The Dover Church - Dover, MA - Continental Reformed and Congregational Church Sites on Waymarking.com

In Dover, near the center of town is the Dover Church, set on a low hill above Springdale Avenue and Dedham Street.

This church is in the traditional 'meetinghouse' style of white wooden churches often seen in New England. It has two levels at the entrance. There are doors and a window on the first level, and three windows on the top. Three larger windows are along the sides of the building. All windows have wide, dark shutters, with the two center windows on the front joined by one set of shutters. There is a bell tower and a modest sized steeple over the peaked roof. With the church is the more modern-styled fellowship hall to the left (facing the church), and the parish house in the rear, forming a courtyard.

According to the church's web site, this meetinghouse was built and dedicated on September 18, 1839, after the previous edifice, designed by Charles Bullfinch and patterned after the First Parish in Roxbury, was destroyed by fire in January 1839. The previous building was used for only 28 years. This building replaced the first meetinghouse, which burned to the ground in 1810.

The church congregation - Congregational - was first established in 1762 as the Springfield or Fourth Parish Church of Dedham. At the time, the area was part of the Dedham Plantation, which stretched from the Readville section of Boston all the way out the Bellingham. In 1784, the church legislature made Dover its own district and the parish was the first Dover parish. As with many other parished in the early 1800s, the parish split in two: the Unitarian congregation retained the parish building and title of First Parish, while the Congregational Church built a church across the street and coexisted amicably for about 100 years. In 1938, the two congregations voted for a permanent union and meet within the first parish church. Today, the congregation maintains affiliation with both the United Church of Christ (Congregational) and Unitarian-Universalist Association denominations. Kraft Hall, the fellowship building mentioned earlier, was built in 1956, and houses the church school, the youth activities, and general church and rented activities. The Taylor Garden provides a place for meditation.

The church has a bell made by George Handel Holbrook, an apprentice of Paul Revere, and it is still in use.

Source: (visit link)

Reformed or Congregational Denomination: United Church of Christ Associated Website: [Web Link] Status: Active House of Worship Address: 17 Springdale Ave Dover, MA Date of Construction or Event Occurrence: 09/18/1839 Architect: Not listed

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