File:Some old time meeting houses of the Connecticut Valley (1911) (14761401386).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

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econd Church,probably stood in the highway, now Main street, onthe east side. In his history of the Second Church ofHartford, Dr. Parker states that this meeting housewas probably a square wooden structure with atruncated pyramidal roof, similar to the squaremeeting houses common in New England in thelatter part of the seventeenth century. Old house of Puritanic wood,Through whose unpainted windows streamed,On seats as primitive and rudeAs Jacobs pillow when he dreamed,—The white and undiluted day. The second meeting house, the edifice which Dr.Parker states was erected in 1753-4, stood in the high-way, a little north of the house of Mr. JosephBuckingham. The site was fixed by a committee ofthe General Assembly, the congregation having failedto agree upon a situation for the house. The highwayreferred to is now known as Buckingham street.Thomas Seymour, in his Memorandum Book, madethe following entry regarding this house of worship:And the Rev. and Pious George Whitefield (provi- 52
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SKCOXD (HURCH OF (FiUlST, HAlMFOi;!) dentially here) preached the first sermon that w<is everpreached in it, and this was on Monday, the secondday of December, Anno Dom., 1754,—a good omen fora new meeting house. This second house of worship was constructed ofwood and had three entrances, one on the east sideand one at either end. There was a steeple at thenorth end. Like other meeting houses of the time, itwas furnished within with square pews, galleries, anda high pulpit with a sounding board. In 1825 the structure of 1753-4, standing in thehighway, had become an obstruction to the citystravel and traffic. It was also weakened by age, andfor some time its removal had been earnestly advocatedin meetings of the society. January, 1825, the societyvoted to build a new meeting house and to establisha place where it shall be erected. The site of thepresent house of worship was chosen. Certificates of stock were issued to the amount of$12,000 for the purpose of building the new house.

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