File:Some old time meeting houses of the Connecticut Valley (1911) (14597756188).jpg

Identifier: someoldtimemeeti00wight (find matches)
Title: Some old time meeting houses of the Connecticut Valley
Year: 1911 (1910s)
Authors: Wight, Charles Albert, 1856-
Subjects: Churches -- Connecticut River Valley Connecticut River Valley -- Description and travel
Publisher: (Chicopee Falls, Mass., The Rich print
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
1714 and stood at a point half way down the broadstreet near where it intersects the Northampton road.Sometime after it was built quite extensive im-provements were made in the interior of the house,and in 1738 Eleazer Porter built a sounding board andcanopy for it. Judds History of Hadley has the follow-ing foot-note: Such a structure over the preacher andpulpit was named sounding board and canopy inEngland. In this country it was several feet high, hada peculiar form, with several sides and angles, andwas generally of very nice workmanship as well as theprojecting front of the pulpit. A spire about onehundred feet high was added to the church sometimeafter 1753. It is believed that the weathercock,purchased in London, was placed upon the spire atthis time. Baileys Dictionary, 1737, says: The cockis generally placed on the tops of steeples in England,and is called the weathercock. This second meeting house was used for nearly acentury, having been sold and moved away in the fall 58 V
Text Appearing After Image:
CliriiCll ANDIOWN IIAl.l.. HADl.KV of 1808. George Whitefield preached in this meetinghouse on one occasion in 1740. Judd in his History ofHadley, referring to Whitefields visit, observes, It hasbeen said that when he preached in Hadley, his voicewas heard in Hatfield. Whitefield was not allowedto preach in Hatfield, but many of the people of thatplace went to Northampton and Hadley to hear him. The present house of worship in Hadley datesfrom 1808 and was erected near the site of the secondmeetinghouse. The only part of the second churchused in the new building was the weathercock, whichwas regilded and mounted in its place. The architectof the third house is unknown. The steeple waspatterned after that of the North Church, Boston, onwhich the lantern was hung out for Paul Revere, whenabout to take his famous ride to Lexington throughevery Middlesex village and farm. The chairman of the building committee was oncea lawyer in Boston and the contractor was a Bostonman. The influence of

Note About Images