First Congregational Church of Boscawen
First Congregational Church of Boscawen | |
43°19′19″N 71°37′45″W / 43.32194°N 71.62917°W / 43.32194; -71.62917 | |
Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
---|---|
Built | 1799 (1799) |
Architectural style | Greek Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 82001689[1] |
Added to NRHP | April 19, 1982 |
The First Congregational Church of Boscawen is a historic church at 12 High Street in Boscawen, New Hampshire. Built in 1799, the wood-frame church was significantly altered in 1839, when it acquired its present Greek Revival character. It is one of the few surviving meeting houses in New Hampshire that continues to combine religious and municipal functions; it basement space is used for town meetings and elections. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.[1]
Architecture and history
The First Congregational Church of Boscawen occupies a prominent location on the north side of the community's main village, at the junction of High and King streets (U.S. Routes 4 and 3 respectively). It is a two-story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof and clapboarded exterior. Its front facade, facing south toward the road junction, is modeled as a Greek temple, with corner pilasters supporting an entablature consisting of an architrave, plain frieze, and moulded cornice. This entablature is continued around the two sides of the building. The church tower rises from the center of the front facade, and consists of three stages: the first stage is an enclosed square with a single small window in its rear face, the second is an open belfry surrounded by pilastered supports, to which the octagonal steeple is mounted.[2]
The church was built in 1799, originally serving both civic and religious functions in the manner of a traditional colonial meeting house. It was oriented with the main entrance on the long side, facing south. In 1839, the building underwent a major renovation, which included rotating the building 90°, placing the main entrance on a short side, removing the box pews in favor of the present slip pews, and removing the traditional high pulpit and sounding board. The municipal functions were also at this time moved out of the building, until 1847. The town then petitioned the congregation for permission to establish a town meeting space in the basement, by raising the building several feet. This proposal was agreed and implemented, and the basement space continues to be used by the town for election polling and other functions (although its offices are in another building). In 1940, the building was again rotated 90°, this time to accommodate realignment of US 3.[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b "NRHP nomination for First Congregation Church of Boscawen". National Park Service. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
External links
- Church website
- v
- t
- e
- Canterbury Shaker Village
- Daniel Webster Family Home
- Bear Brook State Park Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp Historic District
- Blossom Hill and Calvary Cemeteries
- Concord Civic District
- Concord Historic District
- Downtown Concord Historic District
- East Andover Village Center Historic District
- Franklin Falls Historic District
- Hay Estate
- Hersey Farms Historic District
- Murray Hill Summer Home District
- Page Belting Company Mills
- Pittsfield Center Historic District
- Suncook Village Commercial–Civic Historic District
- Waterloo Historic District
- 2½ Beacon Street
- Boscawen Academy and Much-I-Do Hose House
- Boscawen Public Library
- Bradford Town Hall
- Concord Gas Light Company Gasholder House
- Contoocook Railroad Depot
- Eagle Hotel
- Endicott Hotel
- Hall Memorial Library
- Henniker Town Hall
- Jacob Noyes Block
- Merrimack County Bank
- Merrimack County Courthouse
- Millville School
- New Hampshire Savings Bank Building
- Old Post Office
- Pembroke Mill
- Pillsbury Memorial Hall
- Pleasant View Home
- Potter Place Railroad Station
- Robie's Country Store
- Rolfe Barn
- Salisbury Academy Building
- Stanley Tavern
- Tucker Mountain Schoolhouse
- William H. Long Memorial
- Bennett Farm
- Chamberlin House
- Charles S. Hall House
- Dimond Hill Farm
- Donald D. Tuttle House
- Dr. Solomon M. Whipple House
- Farrington House
- Franklin Pierce House
- Gershom Durgin House
- Gov. Frank West Rollins House
- H. Styles Bridges House
- Henry J. Crippen House
- Howe-Quimby House
- Leavitt Farm
- Lewis Downing, Jr. House
- Matthew Harvey House
- Morrill-Lassonde House
- Reuben Foster House and Perley Cleaves House
- Upham-Walker House
- White Farm
worship
- Allenstown Meeting House
- Baptist New Meeting House
- Bradford Center Meetinghouse
- Center Meetinghouse
- First Congregational Church of Boscawen
- Hill Center Church
- Loudon Town Hall
- Lower Warner Meetinghouse
- Northfield Union Church
- Old Webster Meeting House
- South Danbury Christian Church
- South Sutton Meeting House
- Webster Congregational Church
- Beaver Meadow Brook Archeological Site
- Old North Cemetery
- White Park