St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1873-09-19
Historical Address.
BY REV. !. IL. LITTLE.

| [Dclivered at the dedication of the new Union
Church at Concord Corner, Sept ,, ls73.
/ find that it has fallen to my lot to
deliver the historical address of the
occasion. And after very short no.
! ticc of the part assigned me. with some
what limited means for asccrtaining the
complete history of the Church which
we to-day dedicate. come before yOu
with an address which may in some re-
| spectS he imperfect in its historical bear
| ingS. Under the circumstances. it could
not well be otherwise. but ''Such as
/ have give unto thee and if it prove
more complete than anticipate. it will
at least afford some satisfaction to all
| who are interested in this history, to
done to preserve Il record of the deeds
and words of those, who. in tine days
| long since gone 10y. were accustomed to
gather III the ancient church which oc-
cupicd the place upon which this tenn
pie now stands.
In tracing this history we shall need
to go back To the year 1916, titty-seven
years ago. when railroads and all the
modern conveuicnceS of travel were I'M
known. 1t waS in that year that the
church was erected and it WAS the first
one built in the town. We may not
know all the struggle which il cost the
fathers and mothers who were then, i'll
the prime of life. battling hravely for
an existence i'll Il new and almost an
unsettled section of country, to build
ment to their heroic endeavOrs to secure
for themselves and their children, those
religious privileges which they had al
ready learned were essential to their
happiness and true success in life.
Could we know all the sacrifices. and
the amount of effort that was made i'll
building and finishing their church. it
would probably shame the efforts of
many who at the present day give so
reluctantly of their means and efforts
to advance religious work. 1t is suf
ficient to say that Notwithstanding the
difficulties which beset their labors, and
difficulties there must have been of 10
mean proportions, considering their
circumstances, they struggled on with
that energy which knew no such word
as fail. and completed their house.
am told, for it was not my privilege
to see the original house, that it was
claboratelv finished and decorated in
side with carved and other ornamental
work 1t was equal perhaps to the
finest structures of the day, or in other
words, as compared to other churches
of the time, it held the place, which is
occupied at the present age by our
finest church structures in comparison
to those of more modest pretensiOns.
OF those most prominent i'll urging and
helping forward the first building the
names of Judge Williams and Mr.. War
ren stand out in bold relief. Judge
Williams gave generously fer the pur-
pose and Mr.. Warren gave the bell,
which at that time it was no small task
to secure and transport to its destined
ANY person who can give any additional facts
or information connected with the history OF the
old Congregational Church at Concord Corner VIII
confer favor upon those interested in rebuilding
the Church, if they will address Rev j. H. Little,
at West Concord, giving such facts or incidents,
that the history may De made more perfect for
preservation.