Middle Intervale Meeting House and Common facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Middle Intervale Meeting House and Common
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 Location in Maine
Location in the United States
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| Nearest city | Bethel, Maine |
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| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Built | 1816 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 98000721 |
| Added to NRHP | June 26, 1998 |
The Middle Intervale Meeting House and Common is a really old building in Bethel, Maine. It was built way back in 1816. This simple wooden building was a special kind of place called a meeting house.
A meeting house was used for two main things. People went there for church services. It was also a place where the town held important meetings. This building hasn't changed much since 1857. That's when it got its current look, which is called Greek Revival style. Because it's so old and important, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
What Does It Look Like?
The meeting house is a rectangular building made of wood. It's covered with flat wooden boards called clapboards. The whole building sits on a strong granite foundation.
It has a low, square tower on top. This tower has a pyramid-shaped roof. You can see small spires at each corner of the tower. The front of the building is quite plain. It has two doors that look exactly alike. These doors are framed by flat columns called pilasters. Above the doors are decorative parts called entablatures.
The corners of the building also have paneled pilasters. A decorative band runs along the sides of the building below the roof. Each side of the building has three large windows. These windows are spaced evenly. The back of the building, like the front, has no windows. The meeting house stands on the northeast side of a grassy area. This area is about 2 acres big.
Inside the Meeting House
When you go through the front doors, you enter a small area called a vestibule. From here, other doors lead into the main room. This main room is called the nave. There's also a staircase that goes up to a gallery. This gallery is now closed off.
The nave is filled with old-fashioned seats. These seats are called box pews. They have special wooden designs from the Federal style. The pulpit, where the speaker stands, is in the southeast corner. It's framed by large Greek Revival style columns and decorations. The window frames and other decorations inside are simple. The walls and the curved ceiling are covered in plaster.
A Place for Everyone
The Middle Intervale Meeting House was built in 1816. It was meant to be used by two different church groups. These were the Baptist and Congregationalist congregations. It also served as a place for town meetings. These were important gatherings where local people discussed and voted on town matters.
When it was first built, the meeting house looked a bit different. It had a tall tower with a spire. There were also two rows of windows. The gallery inside was reached by an outside staircase. This staircase was located between the two front doors.
In 1825, the windows were changed to how they look today. The box pews were also put in at that time. The building got its Greek Revival style in 1857. This included the new inside staircase to the gallery and the current tower. The meeting house was used by both churches and the town until about 1857. After that, only the Baptist church used it.
See also
