First Church of Christ Congregational - Granville Center Historic District - Granville, MA
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neoc1
N 42° 04.120 W 072° 52.696
18T E 675532 N 4659578
The Greek Revival First Church of Christ Congregational, a.k.a the Old Meeting House, a.k.a. First Congregational Church, is located at 683 Main Road in the Granville Center section of Granville, MA
Waymark Code: WM14MH7
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 07/27/2021
Views: 0
Granville was first settled by Puritan English colonist in 1736. Under the law of the colonial era Massachusetts Bay Colony a community must have a church and a meeting house before it could be incorporated. In 1744, the First Congregational Church was established in what is now Granville Center and also served as the town's meeting house. Granville was officially incorporated in 1754. In 1784, Granville was divided the town into three parishes: Granville Village, Granville Center and West Granville.
The First Church of Christ Congregational was built in 1802 on the site of the older First Congregational Church that was built in 1744. The building also served as the meeting house for the town of Granville. The two story structure has a gabled roof and a pedimented portico entrance with four with four square, fluted columns that were added in 1862. At that time the building was moved 105' back from the road. MACRIS: (
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The central entrance has a six part transom window and is flanked by a pair of 16 by 12 double hung windows on each side. The sides of the building are six bays wide with 16 by 16 double hung windows on the upper and lower levels of all bays on the west side and but with and auxiliary entrance at the sixth bay on the east side. The building once has a steeple that was destroyed in a storm in 1840.
The Old Meeting House was the home of the First Congregational
Church until 1937 when the church joined the Baptist Church in Granville Village to form the Granville Federated Church. In 1974 the town purchased the property to save it from destruction. It was then restored by the Granville Historical Society with funds raised by public subscription.