North Rochester Congregational Church facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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North Rochester Congregational Church
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | Rochester, Massachusetts |
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| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1841 |
| Architect | Eaton, Solomon K. |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 07001400 |
| Added to NRHP | March 21, 2008 |
The North Rochester Congregational Church is a very old and important building in Rochester, Massachusetts. It's a Congregational church that was built way back in 1841. This church is a great example of a building style called Greek Revival. Because of its history and design, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
What the Church Looks Like
The North Rochester Congregational Church stands on North Avenue. It's a wooden building, about one and a half stories tall. It has a sloped roof that faces the front. The outside walls are covered with clapboard siding.
The front of the church looks very balanced. It has three main sections. These sections are separated by tall, thin columns called Doric pilasters. Above these columns, there's a triangular shape called a pediment. This pediment is like the top part of an ancient Greek temple.
The two outer sections have tall, double windows. The main door is right in the middle section. The sides of the church also have windows that look similar to the front ones.
Inside, there's a small area at the back called a vestibule. Stairs here lead up to a balcony and down to the basement. Most of the building is one large main room. This room has a raised platform at one end. It also has a mix of open seats and special enclosed seats called box pews. The basement has modern rooms like bathrooms, a kitchen, and meeting areas.
A Look at Church History
The very first church in North Rochester was built in 1748. It was about one mile west of where the current church stands. Traveling ministers would come to lead services there.
The church group officially started in 1790. They built a new church building at that time. The church you see today was built in 1841. A famous builder named Solomon K. Eaton constructed it. He also built several other churches in the area.
One important person who belonged to this church in the early 1800s was Marcus Morton. He was the Governor of Massachusetts three times!
Challenges and Comebacks
Because the church group was small and in a rural area, they often had money problems. In 1916, they stopped being able to pay for a full-time minister.
The church struggled through the 1900s. For about 20 years around 1970, no services were held there at all. The building started to fall apart, and even raccoons moved in!
But in 1990, the church group came back to life. The building was carefully fixed up. It was even moved onto a new foundation to make it stronger. The inside of the church hasn't changed much since it was built. Some of the box pews were removed, and an organ and electric lights were added.
See also
