Church

St. Patrick’s Church, Newport // 1882

Buildings of New England1 Comment

Perched high on a hill in central Newport, NH, St. Patrick’s Church has served the community in its stunning building for nearly 150 years. The town of Newport began seeing Irish immigrants moving into town looking for work at the mills as early as 1835. The large working-class population created a need for a Catholic church in the growing town. That same year, the Catholic population of the state of New Hampshire was listed at just 720 people. Over the following decades of meeting in homes and small buildings around town, the Catholic population in town, along with the newly established Archdiocese of Manchester, NH, came up with funds for a church in the mill town of Newport. The congregation hired Hira Ransom Beckwith, a carpenter, builder and architect from nearby Claremont to design and construct the new place of worship. Interestingly, Beckwith had only a high school education, so his training as an architect and builder was through apprenticeships. The church is a blend of Gothic Revival and Stick styles, with the lancet windows and tracery paired with the elaborate stick-work in the gable.

Universalist Church of Strafford // 1833

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The Universalist Society of Strafford, founded in 1798, is the second oldest in Vermont and fourth oldest in the nation. In the early years, Universalists met in Strafford’s Town House, sharing the building with other denominations. Eventually the Universalists, Baptists, and Congregationalists all built their own churches, with the Universalists building a structure in 1833 in South Strafford Village. The white clapboarded church sits high on a hill with a gorgeous belfry and large stained glass windows.

Unity Church of North Easton // 1875

Buildings of New England3 Comments

The Unity Church of North Easton, Massachusetts looks like it could stand toe-to-toe architecturally with the large churches in major American cities. The church was a gift to the Unitarian Society in town, by Oliver Ames II, who hired renowned Gothic architect Henry Vaughan to design a chapel, worthy of the town’s wealth. The church contains various tablets and memorials to the Ames Family, with stunning stained glass windows by John LaFarge, recently restored by the church! Behind the grounds is the cemetery where many of the Ames family members are buried.

Church of the Good Shepherd, Waban // 1896

Buildings of New England1 Comment

For the small population living in the farming village of Waban in Newton, MA, every Sunday, they had to take a horse and carriage or walk to church in a nearby village. The Waban Christian Union was the first religious organization to be established in Waban, 1894-1895 after seeing a suburbanization of the village. The church was to be for services of the Protestant Episcopal Faith, though the group claimed no allegiance to the Diocese, nor was it organized according to the laws of the church. It was independently owned by a corporation that felt the need for a religious association in the community. This church structure was constructed in the
summer of 1896 at a cost of $5000 with William F. Goodwin, a charter member of the group (and resident nearby), donating his services as the architect. The organization leased the space to a pastor for $200 a year, later selling it to the congregation, known now as the Church of the Good Shepherd.

Second Baptist Church, Suffield // 1840

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

In early New England, the Congregational Church had a near monopoly on churches. Congregational churches had lost much of its hold on its members and on government by 1725. Eventually, some of its ministers decided a religious revival was needed, creating the emergence of new Baptist and Methodist churches all over the region. Baptists erected a church in West Suffield, far from the town center, which began to rapidly develop in the early 19th century. In 1805, they petitioned to create a second Baptist church, and succeeded. By 1840, the members collected funds to erect this stunning Greek Revival church on Main Street. The congregation hired architect Henry Sykes, who had trained under Chauncey Shepherd of Springfield, Mass and Ithiel Town of New Haven, clearly learning a lot on church design.

First Church of Christ, Suffield // 1869

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Located adjacent to the Town Common, the First Church of Christ in Suffield showcases the grandiose architecture seen in many churches after the Civil War in New England. This brick edifice is the fifth in the history of the church which dates back to around 1680. The church was designed by local architect John C. Mead, who designed many churches in the region. The church is a blending of Italianate and Romanesque Revival styles and originally featured a tall spire and secondary tower. In 1938, the New England Hurricane destroyed the tall spire (a similar event occurred to many New England Churches, including Old North in Boston). Even without the steeple, the church remains as a great architectural treasure in town.

West Suffield Congregational Church // 1839

Buildings of New England1 Comment

Suffield (originally Southfield) Connecticut, was once a part of Massachusetts, incorporated as a town in 1682. After having to travel to downtown Suffield to worship at the church there, the families in the west part of town established the Second Ecclesiastical Society in 1743. The first meeting house was built in 1744 on what was known as “Ireland Plain”, now the southwestern corner of the West Suffield Cemetery. In 1775, a second meeting house was erected on the site of the present building. It was rebuilt in 1839 using the earlier foundation. The Greek Revival church building is very charming with its columned portico and belfry surmounted above a stepped parapet. The church is very well preserved and a lasting remnant of West Suffield’s early days.

North Adams Universalist Church // 1893

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Tucked away off Main Street in North Adams you’ll find this charming little church. The Universalists were organized in North Adams in 1842, restoring an existing church near the Hoosic River. The congregation chose a site for a new church in 1852, and erected a white wooden chapel. It is unclear if the church was outgrown or a fire destroyed it, but the Unitarian society voted to build this church for a cost of approximately $25,000 in 1892. Architect Henry Neill Wilson of Pittsfield drew the plans, and the firm of Porter and Harnam of North Adams constructed the church. Due to the declining population in town in the mid-20th century, the church struggled and was sold to a private owner. The building began to decay by the 1970s and was later sold in 1996 to Barbara and Eric Rudd to house artist Eric Rudd’s installation entitled “A Chapel for Humanity”. The building is currently used as the Berkshire Art Museum Annex.

Old Whaling Church // 1843

Buildings of New England1 Comment

Methodists on Martha’s Vineyard arguably left the largest lasting mark between religious groups on the island between Wesleyan Grove in Oak Bluffs and this stunning church in Edgartown. The Methodists in Edgartown grew with the success of the whaling industry there and their former church was outgrown, requiring a larger and more prominent worshipping space in town. Designed by Frederick Baylies, Jr., the Old Whaling Church was built by skilled shipwrights for Edgartown’s Methodist whaling captains and is regarded as one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in New England. The Old Whaling Church was not only funded by mariners and those dedicated to seafaring trades, it was quite literally built by them, too. Baylies hired a crew of local carpenters who were equally as skilled in building churches as they were in constructing ships. The church is topped by a Gothic Revival clock tower which has crenellations, rounded arches, engaged pilasters, dentil cornice moldings and four spires capped with gilded acanthus leaf finials. The church was acquired by the Vineyard Trust in 1980, and they converted the old sanctuary into a performing arts space. The congregation meets in the former sanctuary in the summer months and in the vestry in the winter with its smaller numbers.

Edgartown Town Hall // 1828

Buildings of New England2 Comments

Located on the idyllic Main Street in Edgartown, on Martha’s Vineyard, this historic building stands out for its design. It was built in 1828 as the first meeting house for the Methodists of Edgartown, the former building was shared with the Baptists there, but was quickly outgrown. Ten years after this church was built, the space was already becoming too cramped with the booming population of the town due to the success of the whaling industry here. The Methodists then constructed a larger church (known as the Old Whaling Church nearby and sold this structure to the town as a new Town Hall. After the Town bought it, the first floor was remodeled to accommodate the fire engine and also the Town’s police station. Today, it contains town offices on the ground floor and the former upstairs church
auditorium is now used as a movie theater. The infamous nails on the chalkboard scene in the movie Jaws was filmed in this building!