Monadnock Congregational Church Clock - Colebrook, NH
Posted by: 
silverquill
N 44° 53.768 W 071° 29.738
19T E 302950 N 4974442
This is the oldest church in the town of Colebrook, NH. The congregation was organized in 1802 and this building erected in 1831. The steeple and this clock were added in 1873.
Waymark Code: WM1FE9
Location: New Hampshire, United States
Date Posted: 04/27/2007
Views: 49
In 1802, the Monadnock Congregational Church was organized under the leadership of Rev. John Willard, a missionary affiliated with the Lancaster Congregational Church. This was the first church founded in Colebrook. For the first eight years, the new church was served by traveling preachers or missionaries.
In 1810, they finally were able to call their first Pastor, Rev. Dyer Burge. They held worship services in the log, one-room schoolhouses in Colebrook and Columbia.
Around 1829, the land for the church’s first building on Main Street was purchased. A subscription drive was held by selling pews to raise the capital for construction. It took a couple of years to complete the new building and in 1831 was dedicated to the Lord’s Service.
In 1836, fifteen people from our church migrated west. They settled in Beloit, Wisconsin. Once there, they established the First Congregational Church of Beloit. The original Beloit church copied the architectural style of the Monadnock Congregational Church.
In 1936, to celebrate the centennial of this migration, a service of commemoration and dedication was held in Colebrook. The tablet with the seven names of the charter members of the Beloit church was placed on the north wall of our church sanctuary at that service. Rev. and Mrs. Reynolds, Mrs. Mildred Corbett and Mrs. Doris Swail traveled to Beloit that year to bring greetings from their mother church.
In 1858, the original church building was remodeled. The pulpit was changed from a high one to a low one and moved from the front to the rear of the church. The pews were also turned around and the entire building was painted and varnished. Charles Parsons deeded the land on Parsons Street, across from the present day U.S. Post Office, to the church in September 1859, with the agreement that a home for the pastor would be built there. The Congregational Church “Parsonage” has been there ever since.
In
1873, more changes were made to the church building. The square tower was taken down, the building raised a story, the present vestry hall was built, and finally, the vestibule and steeple, as they appear today, were erected.
The Colebrook Town Clock was placed in the belfry at this time. A furnace was installed too, along with new carpets and chandeliers. In 1925, the present pipe organ was installed.