St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1902-09-03
THE FIRST nEETINd HOUSE.
CONTINUED from first page.J

keep the said three sheep five years, Tree
from expence to the said Society, and
to pay the WOOL to the committee IN
June, and the lambs on or Before the tlrst
day of November yearly. All the WOOL
and all the lambs and all the profits
arising from the said Sheep, to be LAID
out yearly for Congregational Preach
ing"
When the old church stood on its or
iginal site on the hill, it must indeed
have been an imposing structure, for even
TODAY it may be regarded as a large
building, and it can be easily imagined
that where it stood alone on the hill
top it made wonderful impression on
the towns folk of that time.
A visit to the church is not complete
without trip to the spot where it was
first erected. There is no trace of the
building today except bits of plaster
here and there, made from lime, burned
within few rods of the spot it is said.
| The place where the church stood is now
owned and occupied by Hiram Pierce, a
| great grandson of that Lieut.. Pierce,
who gave two acres of good land, and
afterwards contributed in other substan-
tai ways to the furtherance of the
cause
MIR. Pierce has many interesting remi-
nlscences concerning the old church on
the hill. How in his ancestral home
great fire was built in the fire place each
Sunday morning in winter to furnish
Goals for the foot stoves, which were the
only means of keeping the women of the
congregation comfortable during the
service, the days of heating country
churches being yet in the future. Town
| meeting days were then as now,a great
occasion, and as sui ely as March meet
ing came, just so surely came great
sugaring off in MIR. Pierce'S sugar house
nearby, and the hungry voters were
served with new sugar and barley cakes
at nnepence each. During the later,
years that it stood on the bill the build.
ing was used solely for town purposes,
the First church occupying a building
near its present site erected for Baptist
meeting house, but probably never used
as such. Then the old church ceased to
be regarded as house of worship for a
time and was used to store crops in.
Mr.. Pierce has told the writer that, as
boy, he can remember bow nicely the
shocks OF corn fitted into the old square
peWs, standing there until the husking
time, when the huskers sat in the former
places OF worship and found it very con-
venlent for their task.
But as the years went by and the vii
lagos along the rivers grew and fourished
the old house on the hill became more
isolated and was in danger of falling
into disuse when, as has been told, it
was taken down and removed to it's
present site by the little grave yard
where rests the remains OF that Thomas
Pierce, who did so much to plant this
house of worship, and OF many Other
men and women who worshipped within
its walls
To day it stands as the only building
of any great historical Importance in
town and the efforts of the society in
preserving it and keeping it in repair are
indeed commendable and to them st.
Johnsburv owes a debt OF gratitude.
If the history of the building itself is
interesting, the records of the society
which iostered it are doublv so, for the
early history OF the town is so woven in
to them that the future historian of St.
Johnsbury will find there invaluable aids
to his task. In his address at the re.
dedication, Sunday, DR.. Fairbanks re-
erred to many interesting facts in con-
nection with the early history of the
church and we are permitted to use the
following extracts:
$50 much for the building. Now we
will see about the people. We have
noted that seven years passed after the
settlement OF the town before any refer
ence is made to religious worship; 10
years before anything was done except
to discuss the question; % years before
church was organized. That little
company of six men and 13 WON was
the original first Congregational church,
whose name and record are inherited by
the present organization From these
records, and from other sources. | have
| gathered some acts and characteristics
OF its early history.
The first fact to notice is the value that
was put upon the institutions of religion
by the few who had so long been tened
them. | am not abe to verify the tradi-
ton, well known and often quoted, but |
can readily believe that the substance of
truth is in lt-viz., that when the council,
seeing what feeble folk these were, hes
ltated about organizing, one of the six
men pleaded, we're too poor to live
without the ordinances of the gospel
That undoubtedly was the way they felt.
The few who had any religion were hun
CRY for the ordinances of Gods house.
There was no minister no Sabbath, no
outward sign OF any sort OF religion.
woman, mother of family lived
opposite where the South church now
stands. Many anxious thoughts came
to her about herself and children. She
had Bible which she read prayerfullv,
but she felt the need of fellowship and
instruction. One morning while at the
household work, her feelings swelled so
strongly that she broke away from her
task, saddled the old horse and rode off
some miles to the house of a woman
whose name was Mary BisseIl The two
passed That entire day reading the Bible,
talking and praying together. When
some three or tour years later the
church was organized these two were
among the number and their names are
recorded side by side on the first page of
the old book. 1t was the few women of
TINS sort, who could not afford to live
without the ordinances of the church
and who covenanted Nov. 81, 1909, to
do their part in sustaining them. |
think OF them coming from their scat
tered farms that day, only 10 out of the
800 population hungering for something
which their neighbors cared nothing tor