Round Church (Richmond, Vermont) facts for kids
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Round Church
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 Location in Vermont
Location in the United States
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| Location | Round Church Road, Richmond, Vermont |
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| Area | 1.0 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1812–1813 |
| Architect | William Rhodes |
| Architectural style | Federal |
| NRHP reference No. | 74000355 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | June 20, 1974 |
| Designated NHL | June 19, 1996 |
The Round Church, also known as the Old Round Church, is a special building in Richmond, Vermont. It was built a long time ago, between 1812 and 1813. What makes it so unique is its shape: it has sixteen sides!
This church is a very rare example of a meeting house. It might even be the only sixteen-sided one left in North America. It was built for both town meetings and for five different Protestant church groups to use.
Today, the Richmond Historical Society takes care of the Round Church. You can visit it during the summer and early fall. People also use it for weddings and other events. Because of its rare shape and how well it has been kept, it was named a National Historic Landmark in 1996.
Contents
About the Round Church's Design
The Round Church is located on Round Church Road, near the Winooski River in Richmond. It sits next to the town's green, which was a common feature in old New England towns. This building is made of wood and has two stories. It is covered with wooden boards called clapboards.
The church has a simple style from the Federal period. Most of its sixteen sides have two windows. One side, where the preacher's pulpit was, has no windows. Three sides have doors on the first floor and windows on the second. The doorways have simple frames. The roof also has sixteen sides, and in the middle, there's a two-part bell tower.
Building the Unique Round Church
The Round Church was built by a person named William Rhodes. He came from Claremont, New Hampshire. In Claremont, there was once a sixteen-sided brick church that looked very similar to this one. Rhodes used ideas from architectural books to design this special building. For example, he used a design from Asher Benjamin's 1797 book for the pulpit.
People bought seats, called pews, to help pay for the church's construction. Most of the pews were bought by a group called Congregationalists. But at least four other Christian groups also helped fund the building.
How the Church Was Used Over Time
For many years, the Round Church was used for both church services and town meetings. The Baptist group stopped using it in 1843. The Congregationalists moved to a new building in 1850. The Universalists built their own church in 1879. The Methodists also stopped using the Round Church around the 1880s.
The town continued to use the building for meetings until 1973. It was closed because people worried it wasn't safe anymore. In 1927, some work was done to fix its leaning tower and sagging roof. However, these repairs might not have worked well.
In 1976, the town gave the building to the Richmond Historical Society. A big restoration project happened in 1980 and 1981. This project fixed many changes made since the church was first built. For example, a stairway to the attic was removed. The tower was carefully rebuilt using similar materials because the original wood was rotten. The roof was also reframed to make it strong again.
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