Bernardston Congregational Unitarian Church - Bernardston, MA
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neoc1
N 42° 40.264 W 072° 32.984
18T E 700784 N 4727199
The historic Bernardston Congregational Unitarian Church is Bernardston's first meeting house. It has been moved three times to its present location at 49 Church St, Bernardston, MA.
Waymark Code: WM13P9P
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 01/22/2021
Views: 1
Bernardston was settled in 1737. In compliance with prevailing laws of the Puritan controlled Massachusetts Bay Colony, Congregationalism was official state religion and a church and meeting house was required to make the town eligible for incorporation. Thus this Congregational Church was erected in 1739 and also served as the town meeting house.
"The church began as an early colonial meeting house, located on Huckle Hill, near the town's early residential concentration. It was moved 0.5 miles (0.80 km) in 1772 on capstans and rollers using human power. In 1791 it was moved again, this time by disassembly and reconstruction, to a location on Bald Mountain Road. It was moved a third time in 1825, again by disassembly, to its present location." See link (
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In 1805 the pastor Amasa Cook was dismiss and replaced by Harvard College educated Timothy Rogers who converted the church to Unitarianism. Dissatisfied parishioners then founded a new Congregational Church across the street. Today the church is Unitarian and its history accounts for the Congregational Unitarian name. See link embedded in MACRIS: (
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Unitarianism is a theological movement whose fundamental tenet is the belief that God is a single person as opposed to the more prevalent Christian dogma that God is a Trinity composed of the God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Unitarians believe that the teachings of Jesus were inspired by this singular God and Jesus is not an incarnated deity. In the United States, the Unitarian theology began in Boston, MA in 1784 and spread out from New England. See (
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The Greek Revival style, white clapboard church has been designed and modified by several architects since 1739. These including Samuel Connable, Sr. and Jr., James Couch, Moses Scott, and Orra Sheldon. The church has a gable roof and a tower topped with a domed cupola. The two story high building has a protruding façade with two entrances separated by a rectangular window flanked by black shutters. Above the entrances are a pair of shuttered windows, a pediment and a three-tiered belfry tower. The first tier has false arched windows. The second and third tiers have louvered windows. The sides of the building are five bays wide with four windows on the lower level and five larger windows on the upper level.
The Bernardston Congregational Unitarian Church was listed on the Natinal Register of Historic Places in 1993.