First Congregational Church - Manchester VT
Posted by: nomadwillie
N 43° 09.768 W 073° 04.303
18T E 656757 N 4780698
Built around 1870 the clock sits in a 150 foot spire.
Waymark Code: WMHG6Y
Location: Vermont, United States
Date Posted: 07/08/2013
Views: 1
The First Congregational Church of Manchester was ?“gathered” in 1784, some twenty years after the town of Manchester was settled. Services were held in the town’s meeting house (the Pilgrim and Puritan nomenclature for “church”) until 1829, when a solid brick church was built next to the courthouse and the school.
By 1870, this edifice was too small to meet the needs of the congregation and its shabby appearance was an embarrassment. Manchester had become a summer vacation spot for wealthy families who stayed at the Equinox House and other local inns. It was necessary to raise $23,000 for a new church. More than half of that amount was pledged by members, the rest was given by summer visitors and other friends. Franklin Orvis, proprietor of Equinox House, made his Music Hall available for services during construction and suggested to the building committee that if they were to build at the northern edge of the church lot, he could provide his porch-sitting guests with an unobstructed view of the Green Mountains. In return, he would give funds for a generous new church with a 150-foot spire atop it, with space for clock faces.
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