Universalist-Unitarian Church
Universalist Unitarian Church | |
1910 postcard view | |
44°32′48″N 69°38′9″W / 44.54667°N 69.63583°W / 44.54667; -69.63583 | |
Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
---|---|
Built | 1832 (1832) |
Architectural style | Gothic Revival, Federal |
NRHP reference No. | 78000181[1] |
Added to NRHP | February 17, 1978 |
The Universalist Unitarian Church is a historic church on Silver Street and Elm Street in Waterville, Maine in the United States. Built in 1832 for a Universalist congregation founded in 1826, it is a prominent local example of transitional Federal-Gothic Revival architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[1]
History
For over 200 years, the Universalist Unitarian Church of Waterville, Maine has been part of the spiritual, religious and social life of the community. Two local churches combined to form the church as it is known today, a decade before the national merger of the two denominations into one.
In 1798, Thomas Barnes, a circuit minister, organized the Eastern Maine Association of Universalists. He held meetings in Winthrop, Waterville, Oakland and other nearby places. He was the first Universalist minister in the District of Maine in 1802.
In 1820, Reverend Sylvanus Cobb of Norway, the second Universalist minister ordained in Maine, preached in Waterville for the first time. On May 28, 1826, he organized the first Universalist Church in Maine. The church had twenty members and met in Rev. Cobb's Waterville home. By 1831, the society became formally organized and decided to build a church. Jediah Morrill converted to the faith and gave the largest donation to the building fund. On July 9, 1832, the present church was finished and furnished with 60 pews at a cost of $4,100. It was dedicated in January of the following year. Members raised $360 to purchase a bell and Jediah Morrill gave the clock costing $350. That same year, Rev. Calvin Gardiner began his twenty-year ministry. The church struggled financially over the years, sometimes closing for a year or two at a time.
In 1894, the church was badly damaged by a chimney fire. As part of the building's repair, the church was turned to face the point where Elm and Silver Streets meet. A new organ was purchased and stained glass windows were given by members and church groups. In 1921, the church building was raised and the Averill Parlors constructed in the new basement.
The Unitarian church was founded in 1866 and built on Main Street in Waterville. By 1927, it was having a hard time financially, and the two churches talked of merging. The situation worsened by 1936 to the point where the Unitarians decided to close their church. In 1952, the two churches, along with the Church of the Good Shepherd in Fairfield, united to form the Universalist Unitarian Church of Waterville.
The classic bell tower whose clock was once considered the town clock was in serious danger of collapsing by 2008. The tower was taken down and sold at auction along with the clock and lightning rod. A new bell tower was constructed in time for the Christmas Eve service that year.
Architecture
The church stands facing south toward a small triangular park formed by the junction of Silver and Elm Streets, south of downtown Waterville. It is a single-story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof, clapboard siding, and granite foundation. Rising from the roof is a two-stage square tower, with a clock in the first stage, an open octagonal belfry as the second, and a bowed octagonal roof above. The openings in the belfry have Gothic pointed arches, a detail repeated in fans above some of the building's windows, and in the gable front of the facade.[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ Frank Beard; Robert Bradley (1977). "NRHP nomination for Unitarian-Universalist Church". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-07-14.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) with photos from 1977
External links
- Unitarian Universalist Church of Waterville web site
- v
- t
- e
- Bank Street Unitarian Chapel
- Billingshurst Unitarian Chapel
- Brighton Unitarian Church
- Brook Street Chapel, Knutsford
- Brookfield Unitarian Church
- Chowbent Chapel
- Cross Street Chapel
- Dean Row Chapel, Wilmslow
- Essex Street Chapel
- Fulwood Old Chapel
- Gellionnen Chapel
- General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches
- Hastings Unitarian Church
- Horsham Unitarian Church
- King Edward Street Chapel, Macclesfield
- Meadrow Unitarian Chapel
- Mill Hill Chapel
- Unitarian Meeting House, Newcastle-under-Lyme
- Newington Green Unitarian Church
- Norcliffe Chapel
- Northiam Unitarian Chapel
- Nottage General Baptist & Unitarian Church
- Octagon Chapel, Norwich
- Richmond and Putney Unitarian Church
- Rivington Unitarian Chapel
- Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel
- Shrewsbury Unitarian Church
- Taunton Unitarian Chapel
- Todmorden Unitarian Church
- Toxteth Unitarian Chapel
- Underbank Chapel
- Ullet Road Unitarian Church
- Unitarian Meeting House, Ipswich
- Upper Chapel
- York Unitarian Chapel
- California
- First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles
- First Unitarian Church of Oakland
- First Unitarian Church of San Jose
- First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego
- Mount Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church
- Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation
- Pacific Unitarian Church
- Sepulveda Unitarian Universalist Society
- Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley
- Universalist Unitarian Church of Riverside
- Connecticut
- Unitarian Church in Westport
- Unitarian Universalist Church
- Universalist Church of West Hartford
- District of Columbia
- All Souls Church, Unitarian
- Universalist National Memorial Church
- Georgia
- First Universalist Church
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Temple Israel
- Iowa
- First Unitarian Church
- First Universalist Church of Cedar Rapids
- Universalist Church
- Maine
- Dexter Universalist Church
- First Universalist Church
- Pittsfield Universalist Church
- Stockton Springs Community Church
- Universalist-Unitarian Church
- Maryland
- Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church
- First Unitarian Church
- Massachusetts
- All Souls Church
- Arlington Street Church
- Bernardston Congregational Unitarian Church
- Brattle Street Church
- First Parish in Cambridge
- First Church in Boston
- First Church in Roxbury
- First Church in Salem
- First Church of Christ, Unitarian
- First Parish Church (Duxbury, Massachusetts)
- First Parish Church (Taunton, Massachusetts)
- First Parish Church (Waltham, Massachusetts)
- First Parish Church in Plymouth
- First Parish Church of Dorchester
- First Parish Church, Arlington Massachusetts
- First Parish in Malden
- First Parish of Sudbury
- First Parish Unitarian Church
- First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church of Scituate
- First Religious Society Church and Parish Hall
- First Unitarian Church (Peabody, Massachusetts)
- First Unitarian Church (Somerville, Massachusetts)
- First Unitarian Church (Stoneham, Massachusetts)
- First Unitarian Society in Newton
- First Universalist Church (Provincetown, Massachusetts)
- First Universalist Church (Salem, Massachusetts)
- First Universalist Church (Somerville, Massachusetts)
- Follen Church Society-Unitarian Universalist
- Housatonic Congregational Church
- King's Chapel
- North Parish Church
- Old Ship Church
- Second Unitarian Church
- Theodore Parker Unitarian Universalist Church
- Unitarian Church of Barnstable
- Unitarian Memorial Church
- Unitarian Society
- Unitarian Universalist Church of Medford and the Osgood House
- United First Parish Church
- Universalist Society Meetinghouse
- Wollaston Unitarian Church
- Michigan
- Barn Church
- First Unitarian Universalist Church of Detroit
- Unitarian Universalist Church
- Minnesota
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- First Universalist Church
- Peterborough Unitarian Church
- South Parish
- Unitarian Church
- New Jersey
- Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Summit
- Old Stone Church
- New York
- Chapin Memorial Church
- Christ Church
- First Unitarian Church of Rochester
- First Unitarian Church of Rochester (building)
- First Universalist Church
- First Universalist Church of Portageville
- First Unitarian Congregational Society
- First Unitarian Universalist Church of Niagara
- Fourth Universalist Society in the City of New York
- Pullman Memorial Universalist Church
- Second Unitarian Church
- Unitarian Church of All Souls
- Unitarian Universalist Church
- Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Philadelphia
- Rhode Island
- Bell Street Chapel
- First Unitarian Church of Providence
- First Universalist Church
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Church of the River
- Vermont
- Cavendish Universalist Church
- Unitarian Church
- Washington
- Wisconsin
- Bradford Community Church
- First Unitarian Church
- First Unitarian Society of Madison
- First Universalist Church
- United Unitarian and Universalist Church
- Unity Chapel