Massachusetts Churches

United Church of Norwood // 1886

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Located across from the church-like Norwood Town Hall, the United Church of Norwood is a landmark example of the Victorian Gothic architecture style and an important historical landmark for the town. The cornerstone of this present church was laid in 1885 and was completed and consecrated by December of 1886. Boston architect J. Williams Beal, got his start at the firm of McKim, Mead & White, designed the church here for the local Universalists, who lost their previous church to fire in 1884. In 1934, the town’s Universalist and Methodist congregations merged and they joined together in this, as a Union Church. Built of Milford granite and pressed brick, the United Church of Norwood features a side chapel and clock in its steeple which are unique and add charm to the historic church.

Mansfield Orthodox Congregational Church // 1839

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Welcome to Mansfield, Massachusetts! Located in the southeastern part of the state, this very suburban town is often overlooked in terms of architecture, but there are definitely some great buildings to discover. This is the Orthodox Congregational Church of Mansfield, an 1839 edifice at the town’s South Common. The congregation was established in the 1730s and followed strict Congregationalist beliefs, which were at odds with the growing tide of Unitarianism which was becoming a dominant belief in the Commonwealth by the early 1800s. The differences came to a head when the Anti-Slavery Riot of 1836 occured. Factions of local pro- and anti-slavery residents fought when Charles C. Burleigh, Secretary of the American Anti-Slavery Society, was invited, with the consent of the parish committee, to lecture in the meeting-house. This difference of theological taste as well as a difference of opinion on the idea of slavery led, in 1838, to the forming of a new society, the Orthodox Congregational Society, who built this church soon-after. While the split-off congregationalists were “behind the times”, among the separatists were Hermon Hall and Deacon Otis Allen, secretary and president of the Mansfield Anti-Slavery Society. This church was completed in 1839, and was altered and enlarged in the 1850s and 1870s.

Sacred Heart Church, Newton // 1899

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Built in the Italian Renaissance Revival style by architects Rand & Taylor, the Sacred Heart Church in Newton Centre of 1899 reflects much of the lesser-known history of the affluent suburb of Boston. As Newton’s population nearly doubled between 1870 (12,800) and 1890 (24,000), many Irish Catholic residents who worked in the mills and factories of the Upper and Lower Falls areas of town began to move to the suburbs, taking jobs at households of the affluent class in Newton Centre, as cooks, maids, gardeners and more. Residents of Newton Centre wanted a Catholic Church closer to their homes and work, so they established their own congregation in 1890. As the congregation grew, it was obvious that a new church in Newton Centre would be needed to provide services there. Ground broke on the church by 1891, but it took nearly 10 years until the building was completed. Architect Bertram Taylor of the firm Rand & Taylor, and resident of Newton Centre, is credited with designing the large edifice, which is dominated by twin hipped-roof bell towers. The interior of the church has some of the most elaborate plaster work in the Boston area and stained glass windows lining the walls. Early Pastors of Sacred Heart included two who went on to important posts: Francis C. Spellman (1933-39) became Archbishop of New York; and Richard J. Cushing (1939-44) became Archbishop of Boston.

United Methodist Church of Nantucket // 1823

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The United Methodist Church of Nantucket stands prominently at the top of Main Street on land was obtained from Peleg Mitchell in 1822. Construction on the site began in 1823 with the massive structure originally built with a pyramidal hip roof of enormous timbers brought to the island on whaling vessels. In 1840, the roofline was amended with the present gable roof, constructed over the original hip roof. The church is a highly significant example of Greek Revival architecture on the island and a more rare example of the temple-front form seen there. Deferred maintenance threatened the building to the point that in 1995, the building was listed as one of the most endangered buildings in Massachusetts. A restoration was undertaken funded by private contributions and the Massachusetts Preservation Project Fund, preserving the building for another 200 years.

United Church of Ware // 1926

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The East Congregational Church in Ware was established in 1826, spurred by the industrial growth and subsequent immigrant population boom in the village of Ware, Massachusetts. The Ware Manufacturing Company, a major player in town, contributed $3,000 to towards the construction of a new congregational church in the village, which was matched by residents. The original church was built in 1826, following plans prepared by Isaac Damon, a noted church architect from Northampton, in the Federal style, popular at the time. In 1925, just a year before its centennial, the church burned to the ground. Plans to rebuild the church formulated immediately. Due to changes to the neighborhood since 1826 (notably the construction of tenement housing adjacent to the church), the decision was made to locate the new church setback from the street. Plans were drawn by Frohman, Robb and Little of Boston for the new building, which was to be Federal Revival, a nod to the former church building. The grounds in front were landscaped by the prominent landscape architect Arthur A. Shurtleff. After WWII, population decline and dwindling membership of some churches in town required a few congregations to consolidate, creating a union or united church here. The United Church of Ware came into being in 1969 when the East Congregational Church, United Church of Christ and the Ware Methodist Church, United Methodist Church joined together and became one federated church with ties to two denominations.

All Saints Church of Ware // 1888

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All Saints’ Church in Ware Massachusetts was originally known as St. William’s parish, and was the oldest Roman Catholic Church in the town. Beginning in 1850, regular Catholic services were held in the new industrial village, as large a population of French Canadians moved there for work in the textile mills. A small frame church was built on West Street and a cemetery laid out around it for members of the congregation. As the congregation grew, a larger building was needed. In 1888, work began on the present structure which was to be located in a more central location. The Archdiocese worked with Patrick W. Ford, an architect who designed many Roman Catholic churches built in the eastern part of United States through the latter half of the 19th century. The Victorian Gothic church building remains one of the best examples of the style in central Massachusetts.

St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Ware // 1906

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As the industrial town of Ware developed into a manufacturing powerhouse in Central Massachusetts, European immigrants moved to the town for work in the textile mills. Polish workers were a large proportion of this workforce in Ware, and they sought a place of worship, establishing St. Mary’s. Polish residents initially worshiped in the basement of a church in town until 1906 when a lot was acquired just south of the mills. The Archdiocese seemingly noted the desire for a church and possibly bankrolled some of the building and design costs for the new congregation. The late Romanesque Revival church building is stunning inside and out, and I would love to learn the architect for the building. Does anyone know?

Barnstable Olde County Courthouse // 1763

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This historic building was constructed in 1763 as the Barnstable County Courthouse replacing an even earlier courthouse building that was outgrown in the village. The building served primarily as a courtroom with jury deliberations carried out in one of the nearby taverns. Additionally, large town meetings were sometimes held in this building until it too was outgrown. This courthouse was the site of a mass protest on Sept. 27, 1774, after Britain revoked Massachusetts Bay’s 1691 charter — one of a series of Coercive Acts intended to punish the colonists for the Boston Tea Party the previous year. As a result of the protest, all Barnstable county officials agreed to ignore Parliament’s new rules, effectively freeing Cape Cod of British control. The significance of this building cannot be understated as the building is one of only two remaining Massachusetts colonial-era courthouses where such protests occurred. The county dedicated its new courthouse in the 1830s, consolidating all court functions in a large, granite structure closer to the present center of Barnstable Village (featured previously). This building was acquired by the Third Barnstable Baptist Church, who renovated the building at the time and again in 1905. After the church was disbanded in 1972, the building was purchased by Tales of Cape Cod, a nonprofit volunteer group committed to preserving the Cape’s history. What a building to be based out of!

Old North Church, Marblehead // 1825

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Old North Church, formally the First Church of Christ Marblehead, was organized in 1635 by fishermen and mariners who formed a church to relieve them of the burden of travel to Salem in order to receive church sacraments and participate in civil affairs (before the separation of church and state). They met in member’s homes until 1638, when a meeting house was constructed overlooking the ocean. By 1695, a “modern” church structure was built on Franklin Street. The structure was not adequate for the growing wealth and prosperity of the town, as Marblehead emerged from local cod fishing to overseas trade. In 1824, merchant-politician William Reed helped the congregation acquire a large lot on Washington Street. Within a year, the new stone church was built. The stone to build the church was blasted from the ledge upon which it stands. In 1879, a wooden meeting house was built to accommodate an increased membership at prayer meetings. The detached meeting house was added onto in 1951, connecting it to the stone church. The two attached buildings were designed/re-designed in the Colonial Revival style to add to the architectural composition of the old Federal period church.

St. Anthony’s Church Campus // 1951

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In the 1920s Italian-speaking residents in Everett, Massachusetts appealed to Archbishop of Boston, William O’Connell for an Italian parish. Everett had seen a large influx of Italian immigrants who settled in town and the surrounding communities for work. The Archdiocese saw the demand, and rented the former Broadway Theater to be used as a church for the short term. In 1951, land was acquired a few blocks away for a new church, school and rectory. The church was designed to resemble historic Romanesque-style churches seen in Italy, with the school and renovated rectory following the Modern tradition. The brick and limestone church appears to have been built more in the historical tradition, with hand-carved stone trim and a beautiful rose window. It’s amazing that this church was built in the 1950s!