Better known for its role as a place of political activism and famous speeches, this historic building was actually built as a Puritan meeting house, used for worship, in 1729. It's large size and central location was convenient for larger meetings that were often political in nature.
In 1872, shortly before a catastrophic fire in Boston, the congregation moved to another part of town, taking the bell and much of the furnishings with them. The church had no bell since that time until October 2011 when one of the bells cast by Paul Revere & Sons before his death was installed in the tower with the 1768 brass, wood, and iron tower clock which still keeps the time. The bell was originally in the First Baptist Church in Westborough, Massachusetts, which had closed its doors in 2007. The bell cast in 1801 weighs 865 pounds.
References:
The Boston Herald
The Boston Globe
From the Old South Meeting House home page:
"Built in 1729 as a Puritan meeting house, Old South has been an important gathering place for nearly three centuries. The Old South congregation built their first wooden meeting house in 1669, but overcrowding became a problem and the congregation tore it down to build a new, more spacious brick meeting house in 1729. Members of Old South’s congregation have included African-American slave and poet Phillis Wheatley, patriot leader Samuel Adams and Benjamin Franklin.
The Old South Meeting House was Colonial Boston’s largest building. In New England, meeting houses were often used for public gatherings as well as for worship. In Boston, meetings too large for Boston’s town hall, Faneuil Hall, were often held at the Old South Meeting House because of its great size and central location. The steeple of Old South Meeting House also served a community purpose, housing an enormous clock, installed by the town in 1770, which is still in place today.
The congregation that built the Old South Meeting House in 1729 was descended from the Puritans who founded Massachusetts Bay Colony in the early 17th century. The Puritans left England in search of new lands and greater religious freedom. They believed in a direct relationship between the individual and God, and felt that the rituals used by the Church of England (or Anglican Church) interfered with this direct relationship. Instead of the rituals, music and elaborate architecture of the Church of England, the Puritans emphasized Bible-reading, sermons, prayers and the unaccompanied singing of psalms in their services."
Some additional history from an entry in Wikipedia:
"The church, with its 56 m (183 ft) steeple, was completed in 1729. The congregation was gathered in 1669 when it broke off from First Church of Boston, a Congregationalist church founded by John Winthrop in 1630. The site was a gift of Mrs. Norton, widow of John Norton, pastor of the First Church in Boston.[3] The church's first pastor was Rev Thomas Thatcher, a native of Salisbury, England. Thatcher was also a physician and is known for publishing the first medical tract in Massachusetts.
After the Boston Massacre in 1770, yearly anniversary meetings were held at the church until 1775 featuring speakers such as John Hancock and Dr. Joseph Warren. In 1773 5,000 people met in the Meeting House to debate British taxation, and after the meeting a group raided a nearby tea ship in what became known as the Boston Tea Party.
In 1775 the British occupied the Meeting House due to its association with the Revolutionary cause. The British gutted the building, filled it with dirt and then used the interior to practice horse riding. They destroyed much of the interior and stole various items including William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation (1620), a unique Pilgrim manuscript, hidden in Old South's tower.
Old South Meeting House was almost destroyed in the Great Boston Fire of 1872, saved by the timely arrival of a fire engine from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, but the fire caused the city's residential districts to shift toward the Back Bay, away from the church. The congregation then built a new church (the "New" Old South Church at Copley Square) which remains its home to this day. Once a year, on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, the Old South congregation returns to Old South Meeting House for services in its ancestral home."
Today the Old South Meeting House is a museum and popular stop on Boston's self-guided Freedom Trail. In 1964 it was designated as a "Registered National Historic Landmark."
The Boston Discovery Guide gives a hint at some of the things at the museum, including the building itself as the greatest exhibit.
"In addition to the important historical events related to American independence that took place within these wall, leading citizens from other periods in our country's development engaged in activities here.
Look up at the 2-tier gallery, designated during the early days as seating for slaves, servants, the poor, and teenage boys. Poet Phyllis Wheatley, an African slave who became America's first published African writer, worshipped here.
Old South congregation members witnessed the baptism of Benjamin Franklin here, George Washington decried the British desecration of Boston here, and Elizabeth Foster, the second wife of Isaac Goose (also called "Vergoose") and better known as "Mother Goose," sang hymns here.
In the late 1880s, leading Bostonians Julia Ward Howe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and James Russell Lowell gave public readings of their works. During recent years, Al Gore and Coretta Scott King have spoken here.
The museum itself features a number of informative and fascinating exhibits.
The "Voices of Protest" exhibit uses lifelike figures and interactive exhibits to tell the history of the Old South Meeting House.
"If These Walls Could Speak..." takes you through the American Revolution history events that have occurred here. During this multimedia presentation, you'll experience Boston Tea Party speeches, the British Siege of Boston, and the close call with the wrecking ball."
Open Daily all year.
9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.- April 1 - October 31
10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.- November 1 - March 31
Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve Day, Christmas, and New Year's Day.
ADMISSION AND TICKETS
Adults: $6.00
Seniors (62+) and students with I.D.: $5.00
Children (6-18): $1.00
Children under 6: Free