Built in 1816, the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House (formerly known as The Brick Meeting House) is the oldest remaining place of worship established by settlers in

Burlington, Vermont Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is the List of municipalities in Vermont, most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat, seat of Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County. It is located south of the Can ...

. It is located along the northern side of the intersection of Pearl Street and the

Church Street Marketplace The Church Street Marketplace is an uncovered outdoor pedestrian shopping and dining mall in Burlington, Vermont, consisting of the four blocks of Church Street between Main and Pearl Streets. The mall was initially conceived in 1958 and was ...

. The building is a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

of the "Head of Church Street" Historic District, in combination with the

Masonic Temple A Masonic Temple or Masonic Hall is, within Freemasonry, the room or edifice where a Masonic Lodge meets. Masonic Temple may also refer to an abstract spiritual goal and the conceptual ritualistic space of a meeting. Development and history I ...

(built in 1897) and the Richardson Building. The historic district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 15, 1974.City of Burlington, Vermont: Department of Planning & Zoning
Properties & Districts listed on the National Register
November 2011. http://www.burlingtonvt.gov/PZ/National-Register-of-Historic-Places The Unitarian Universalist Meeting House is home to the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington, Vermont, which is a member congregation of the

Unitarian Universalist Association Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist congregations. It was formed in 1961 by the consolidation of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Ch ...

and Northern New England District.

History

The Unitarian Society was originally part of the Congregational church that was organized in

, on February 23, 1805. However, in 1810, the Congregational Society divided into the Trinitarian or Calvinistic Society, which embraced the

doctrine of the Trinity Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system. The etymolog ...

, and the Unitarian Society, which rejected it. The Rev. Daniel Haskel was ordained over the Trinitarian society on April 10, 1810, where the Rev. Samuel Clark was ordained over the Unitarian Society on April 19 of that year. The laying of the

cornerstone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

of the Unitarian church occurred around May 1, 1816, with the remainder of the construction taking about seven months to complete at an approximate cost of $23,000, including the clock, bell, and organ (which was transported from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

by sleigh). In December of that year, the pews of the lower floor were sold "for upwards of $21,000". The Unitarian Society appointed E.T. Englesby as the superintendent to officiate the completion of the building. The Burlington ''Northern Sentinel'' issue of December 27, 1816, described the church as "91 feet in length, 60 in breadth, with a steeple of 170 feet in height". The Church was dedicated on January 9, 1817. In 1910, prompted by a letter from historical researcher from Boston, the Burlington city treasurer L.C. Grant had discovered that the original bell for the church was cast by

Paul Revere Paul Revere (; December 21, 1734 O.S. (January 1, 1735 N.S.)May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, military officer and industrialist who played a major role during the opening months of the American Revolutionary War in Massachusetts, ...

on October 13, 1816. The bell weighing , along with its tongue weighing was sold to the Town of Burlington for $592.65 (at a cost of $0.45 per pound). The bell was recast in 1828 (at a cost of $166.88), and was replaced sometime in the 1900s after a crack had developed. In August 1954, the church steeple was struck by lightning that unknowingly caused extensive deterioration over the course of the ensuing sixteen months, until it was revealed that the base had settled and tilted eastward by approximately two feet. By 1956, the decision was made to demolish the steeple, which took about six weeks to complete.

Steeplejack A steeplejack is a trade (profession), craftsman who scales tall buildings and structures to carry out repairs or maintenance. They are sometimes also involved in new construction, as well as demolition. Processes and techniques Steeplejacks ...

s out of Framingham, Massachusetts managed to salvage the windows, bell, and pieces of metal sheathing during the process. A replacement spire was completed and dedicated in September 1958. The presiding pastor of the time, the Rev. Robert S. Miller had commented that the project was financed by a $55,000 fund drive ''"to which people of nearly all faiths contributed"''.

Gallery

File:Unitarian Church Burlington Vermont.jpg, Oblique view of the church, 2013 File:BurlingtonVT ChurchStreet.jpg, View of the church from the Church Street Marketplace, 2004 File:Unitarian Church, Burlington, Vt (77627).jpg, Vintage postcard of the church, circa 1930–1945 File:BTV UnitarianChurchSignage 20160912.jpg, Historic wayfinding signage at the Unitarian Church

References

External links

* {{Authority control Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont Churches in Burlington, Vermont National Register of Historic Places in Burlington, Vermont Historic district contributing properties in Vermont Unitarian Universalist churches in Vermont Churches completed in 1816 1816 establishments in Vermont Federal architecture in Vermont