Danville Meetinghouse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Danville Meetinghouse
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 Location in New Hampshire
Location in the United States
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| Location | N. Main St., Danville, New Hampshire |
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| Area | 0.3 acres (0.12 ha) |
| Built | 1759 |
| NRHP reference No. | 82001876 |
| Added to NRHP | April 19, 1982 |
The Danville Meetinghouse is a very old and special building in Danville, New Hampshire. It's also known as The Hawke Meetinghouse. This historic building was started in 1755 and finished in 1760. At that time, Danville was called Hawke. The people of Hawke wanted their own town, separate from Kingston.
This meetinghouse is the oldest one of its kind in New Hampshire. It still looks much like it did when it was first built. The inside of the building is especially well-preserved. A local group now takes care of the meetinghouse. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
Contents
What the Danville Meetinghouse Looks Like
The Danville Meetinghouse is in a quiet, country area of northern Danville. You can find it on the east side of North Main Street. It is a two-and-a-half-story building made of wood. It has a pointed roof and its outside walls are covered with clapboards.
There are doors in the middle of the east, west, and south sides. The main entrance is on the south side. This door has decorative columns and a simple frame around it. The north wall has five window areas. The middle one has a special window for the pulpit, halfway between the two floors.
Inside the Meetinghouse
The inside of the meetinghouse still has its original box pews. These are like small, enclosed seating areas. There is a raised pulpit and a reading desk in the middle of the north wall. This is where speakers would stand.
Upstairs, on the gallery level, there are different types of seats called slip pews. There is also a special area for the choir on the south wall. This choir area faces the pulpit.
History of the Danville Meetinghouse
Local people built the meetinghouse around 1759-1760. It was for the western part of Kingston parish. This was before Hawke (now Danville) became its own town.
Around 1800, many of its windows were made a little larger. The building also got some new decorations on the outside. These decorations were in a style called Federal style.
People used the meetinghouse for religious services for many years. But in 1832, a new church was built. After that, fewer religious services were held here. Town meetings were regularly held in the meetinghouse until 1887. That's when the current town hall was finished.
The box pews were taken out in the 1860s and stored away. But in 1936, they were put back exactly where they belonged.
Why This Building Is Important
The Danville Meetinghouse is very important for its age and how well it has been kept. Its well-preserved inside helps us understand what older meetinghouses looked like. Many of those old buildings no longer exist today.
See Also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Rockingham County, New Hampshire
- New Hampshire Historical Marker No. 169: Hawke Meeting House
