Lower Warner Meetinghouse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Lower Warner Meetinghouse
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 Location in New Hampshire
Location in the United States
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| Location | NH 103, Warner, New Hampshire |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1844 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 89000450 |
| Added to NRHP | May 25, 1989 |
The Lower Warner Meetinghouse is a special old building in Warner, New Hampshire. It's located at 232 East Main Street, which is also known as NH 103. This meetinghouse was built a long time ago, between 1844 and 1845. It's a great example of a 19th-century Greek Revival style church. What makes it so special is that it still looks almost exactly as it did when it was first built! The only big change is that its steeple was lost in a lightning strike around 1893. Because of its history and how well it has been kept, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
Contents
Exploring the Lower Warner Meetinghouse
The Lower Warner Meetinghouse stands in a quiet, country area in eastern Warner. You can find it on the north side of NH 103, just west of where Schoodac Road joins.
What the Building Looks Like
This building is made of wood and is about one and a half stories tall. It has a roof that slopes down on two sides, called a gabled roof. The outside walls are covered with overlapping wooden boards. The front of the building has three sections. The middle section has the main entrance, which is set back a little. On either side of the entrance, there are two tall windows. The entrance is framed by flat wooden panels, and these same panels are also on the corners of the building. These panels go up to a triangular shape at the very top, which has a small triangular vent. Above the entrance, there is a two-part square tower. The sides of the building each have three tall windows.
Inside the meetinghouse, many of the original features are still there. While some of the long benches (called pews) have been moved or taken out, you can still see the original pulpit (where the speaker stands). The old lighting fixtures and the stove are also still there, along with the original Bible used at the pulpit.
A Look at Its History
The very first meetinghouse in this area was built in 1789. Later, in the 1840s, the church members decided they wanted to move to a different village nearby. But some people didn't agree with this decision. So, those who disagreed decided to build a brand new meetinghouse right where the Lower Warner Meetinghouse stands today.
It's not completely clear how, but a local Methodist church group also started using the building by 1846. So, for a while, both the Congregationalists and the Methodists shared the building. This continued until the 1860s, when the building was no longer used regularly.
For many years, neighbors living nearby informally looked after the building. Then, after the steeple was lost to lightning around 1893, a big project began in 1897 to fix up and restore the meetinghouse. In 1969, the building was officially given to the Warner Historical Society, which helps to preserve its history for everyone to enjoy.
See also
