Jonathan Dwight - Springfield, MA
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 04.271 W 072° 33.645
18T E 701793 N 4660558
A tablet honoring businessman and benefactor Jonathan Dwight is located in the vestibule in front of the entrance the the Unitarian Universalist Church at 245 Porter Lake Dr, Springfield, MA.
Waymark Code: WM14DAV
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 06/16/2021
Views: 0
A bronze tablet honoring Jonathan Dwight contains the bas-relief portrait of the businessman who was the benefactor of Unitarianism in Springfield, MA. The plaque is inscribed:
To the honored memory of
JONATHAN DWIGHT
Born in BOSTON June 16, 1743
Died in SPRINGFIELD September 5, 1831
Who gave the original edifice of the
UNITARIAN CHURCH of SPRINGFIELD
This tablet is placed by his descendants.
Blessed are the dead which die in the LORD Yea
saith the Spirit for they rest from their labors
and their works do follow them.
The Congregational Church was once, by Massachusetts law, the only church in Springfield. Early in the 19th century a schism occurred between the traditional Trinitarians and Unitarians who reject the doctrine of the trinity.
In 1819, Unitarians began to separate from the Congregationalist. Jonathan Dwight, who was the founder and president of the Springfield Bank, donated the land and the funds for the construction a Unitarian church building. This building served the Unitarians until the Unity Church was built in 1869. The present church was built when the Unity Church was demolished in 1961.