The First Parish Meetinghouse is a historic
colonial meeting house
A colonial meeting house was a meeting house used by communities in colonial New England. Built using tax money, the colonial meeting house was the focal point of the community where the town's residents could discuss local issues, conduct reli ...
at Meeting House Road and Old Pool Road in
Biddeford, Maine
Biddeford ( ) is a city in York County, Maine, United States. It is the principal commercial center of York County. Its population was 22,552 at the 2020 census. The twin cities of Saco and Biddeford include the resort communities of Biddef ...
. Built in 1758, it is the oldest public building in the city, and is one of the oldest buildings of its type in the state. It served as a combined church and town hall until about 1840. It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1972.
It is now owned by the Biddeford Historical Society.
Description and history
The First Parish Meetinghouse is located at the triangular intersection of Old Pool Road (Maine State Routes
9 and
208
Year 208 ( CCVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Geta (or, less frequently, year 961 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 208 for this year ...
) and Meeting House Road. Set facing west, toward Meeting House Road, it is a single-story wood frame structure, with a front-facing gable roof, clapboard siding, and a granite foundation. Its front facade is symmetrically arranged, with a pair of entrances at the ground level, and a single window in the gable at the gallery level. The doorways and all windows are topped by lancet-arched Gothic louvers. The main structure is built out of hand-hewn timbers. The building originally had a belfry; this was apparently removed during alterations in 1840, in which the pulpit was lowered and soundboard removed.
The meetinghouse was built in 1758 by Nathaniel Perkins, a local master builder, pursuant to a vote by the Biddeford town meeting. The congregation that met here is the "mother congregation" of both the congregation church in adjacent
Saco and the present
UCC The initialism UCC may stand for:
Law
* Uniform civil code of India, referring to proposed Civil code in the legal system of India, which would apply equally to all irrespective of their religion
* Uniform Commercial Code, a 1952 uniform act to ...
congregation in Biddeford. The meeting house was an important site in the community during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
, when local organizing activities were held here. It is also notable for its association with
James Sullivan, who rose to prominence as a lawyer here and eventually became
Governor of Massachusetts
The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The governor is the chief executive, head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonw ...
.
[
Today, the meeting house is used by the Biddeford Historical Society to hold lectures and educational events about Biddeford's history such as reenactment performances.]
See also
*
References
External links
{{National Register of Historic Places
Buildings and structures in Biddeford, Maine
Churches in York County, Maine
Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine
Religious buildings and structures completed in 1758
Town halls in Maine
National Register of Historic Places in York County, Maine
18th-century churches in the United States