Centre Street Congregational Church - Machias, ME - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

Centre Street Congregational Church

The Centre Street Congregational Church in Machias is an important example of the first phase of Gothic Revival architecture in New England. In Maine the first example of an early Gothic Revival church is the stone Christ Church in Gardiner (Rev. Samuel Farmer Jarvis, Architect, 1819, National Register 7/24/73). The next major Gothic Revival Church in the state was St. John's in Banger, designed in 1835 by Richard Upjohn, then of Boston, now destroyed.

In a state with few Gothic Revival buildings, the novelty of St. John's design probably made a strong impression on the landscape. As the Bangor church took form in 1836, the Congregationalists of the small northern coastal town of Machias decided to replace their late 18th century meeting house. On March 10, 1836, the parish adopted a plan furnished by a "Mr. Stephenson." While Stephenson's identity has not been discovered in Machias. Bangor or Boston records, his design was, interestingly, a modified version of Upjohn's St. John's.

A month later, on April 18, the congregation voted "that a committee of four be appointed for building the meeting house as soon as may be of the size reported by our late committee and substantially according to the drawings furnished by Mr. Stephenson with instructions to report any alterations in the model which may to them seem advisable." G. S. Smith, David Longfellow, William F. Penniman, and Samuel Burpee were designated as the building committee. Burpee was a local master builder and may have directed the construction of the church. At the same April meeting, the parish agreed to purchase the site for $1,200 and to authorize their treasurer to pay any building costs, which ultimately totaled $9,757.

The Centre Street Congregational Church was completed within less than a year's time, and its dedication took place on April 13, 1837. Captain Stephen Longfellow was chosen to obtain a bell. During a visit to Boston, he purchased a second-hand bell which had been cast by Paul Revere's foundry. It measures 33 inches from top to bottom and 38 inches in diameter at the base.

The Centre Street Congregational Church has undergone only a few important changes since its completion in 1837. In 1859 the women of the parish established an Organ Society to provide music for the church. Their project was slowed by the Civil War. However, by 1867, they had raised enough funds to purchase the present organ from George Stevens of Cambridge, Mass., a leading 19th century New England organ maker. The ladies also came to the rescue in the matter of a clock. In 1854 the town meeting voted to indefinitely postpone the placement of a town clock in the church tower. Undaunted, the women formed a Ladies Clock Society, which earned enough money through staging special events to install the present public time piece in November of 1870. Costing $600, this large eight-day clock was manufactured by Howard of Boston. The church's final major alteration came in 1899 with the installation of a series of stained glass windows representing Biblical themes.

The Centre Street Congregational Church stands today as the most prominent architectural landmark in Machias as well as an engaging example of the early Gothic Revival in New England. As the community's historian, George W. Drisko, observed in 1904:

The Church was dedicated free from debt; the pride of the town, because of its size and beautiful architectural outlines. No one thing ever accomplished by its citizens did so much to elevate and promote the town's good name.
From the NRHP Nomination Form