Old South Meeting House
Encyclopedia
The Old South Meeting House (built 1729), in the Downtown Crossing
area of Boston, Massachusetts
, gained fame as the organizing point for the Boston Tea Party
on December 16, 1773. 5,000 colonists gathered at the Meeting House, the largest building in Boston at the time.
in 1630. The site was a gift of Mrs. Norton, widow of John Norton
, pastor of the First Church in Boston
. 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.
, this National Historic Landmark
has long served as a platform for the free expression of ideas. Today, the Old South Meeting House is open daily as a museum and continues to provide a place for people to meet, discuss and act on important issues of the day. The stories of the men and women who are part of Old South’s vital heritage reveal why the Old South Meeting House occupies an enduring place in the history of the United States.
The museum and historic site is located at the intersection of Washington
and Milk Street
s and can be visited for a nominal sum. It is located near the State Street, Downtown Crossing
and Park Street
MBTA (subway) stations.
The Old South Meeting House is claimed to be the second oldest establishment existent in the United States.
Downtown Crossing
Downtown Crossing is a shopping district in Boston, Massachusetts, located due east of Boston Common and west of the Financial District. It features large department stores as well as restaurants, music stores, souvenir sellers, general retail establishments, and many street vendors...
area of Boston, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, gained fame as the organizing point for the Boston Tea Party
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies...
on December 16, 1773. 5,000 colonists gathered at the Meeting House, the largest building in Boston at the time.
Church (1729–1872)
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 WinthropJohn Winthrop
John Winthrop was a wealthy English Puritan lawyer, and one of the leading figures in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the first major settlement in New England after Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the first large wave of migrants from England in 1630, and served as governor for 12 of...
in 1630. The site was a gift of Mrs. Norton, widow of John Norton
John Norton (Puritan divine)
John Norton was a Puritan divine, and one of the first authors in the United States of America.-Career:...
, pastor of the First Church in Boston
First Church in Boston
First Church in Boston is a Unitarian Universalist Church founded in 1630 by John Winthrop's original Puritan settlement in Boston, Massachusetts. The current building is on 66 Marlborough Street in Boston.-History:...
. The church's first pastor was Rev Thomas Thatcher, a native of Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Thatcher was also a physician and is known for publishing the first medical tract in Massachusetts.
After the Boston Massacre
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre, called the Boston Riot by the British, was an incident on March 5, 1770, in which British Army soldiers killed five civilian men. British troops had been stationed in Boston, capital of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, since 1768 in order to protect and support...
in 1770, yearly anniversary meetings were held at the church until 1775 featuring speakers such as John Hancock
John Hancock
John Hancock was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...
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
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies...
.
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
Of Plymouth Plantation
Written over a period of years by the leader of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation is the single most complete authority for the story of the Pilgrims and the early years of the Colony they founded...
(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
Great Boston Fire of 1872
The Great Boston Fire of 1872 was Boston's largest urban fire, and still ranks as one of the most costly fire-related property losses in American history. The conflagration began at 7:20 p.m. on November 9, 1872, in the basement of a commercial warehouse at 83—87 Summer Street in Boston,...
, 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
Copley Square
Copley Square is a public square located in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, named for the donor of the land on which it was developed. The square is named for John Singleton Copley, a famous portrait painter of the late 18th century and native of Boston. A bronze statue of...
) which remains its home to this day. Once a year, on the Sunday before Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
, the Old South congregation returns to Old South Meeting House for services in its ancestral home.
Ministers
- Thomas Thacher (1620–1678), minister 1670–1678
- Samuel Willard (1640–1707), minister 1678–1707
- Ebenezer Pemberton (1672–1717), minister 1700–1717
- Joseph Sewall (1688–1769), minister 1713–1769
- Thomas PrinceThomas PrinceThomas Prince was an American clergyman, scholar and historian noted for his historical text A Chronological History of New England, in the Form of Annals...
(1687–1758), minister 1718–1758 - Alexander Cumming (1726–1763), minister 1761–1763
- Samuel Blair (1741–1818), minister ca.1766
- John Bacon (b.1737), minister 1772–1775
- Joseph Eckley (1750–1811), minister 1779–1811
- Joshua Huntington (1786–1819), minister 1808–1819
- Benjamin B. Wisner (1794–1835), minister 1821–1832
- Samuel H. Stearns (1801–1837), minister 1834–1836
- George W. Blagden (1802–1884), minister 1836–1872
- Jacob M. Manning (1824–1882), minister 1857–1872
Notable congregants
- Samuel AdamsSamuel AdamsSamuel Adams was an American statesman, political philosopher, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. As a politician in colonial Massachusetts, Adams was a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and was one of the architects of the principles of American...
- William DawesWilliam DawesWilliam Dawes, Jr. was one of several men and a woman who alerted colonial minutemen of the approach of British army troops prior to the Battle of Lexington and Concord at the outset of the American Revolution....
- Benjamin FranklinBenjamin FranklinDr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
- Samuel SewallSamuel SewallSamuel Sewall was a Massachusetts judge, best known for his involvement in the Salem witch trials, for which he later apologized, and his essay The Selling of Joseph , which criticized slavery.-Biography:...
- Phillis WheatleyPhillis WheatleyPhillis Wheatley was the first African American poet and first African-American woman whose writings were published. Born in Gambia, Senegal, she was sold into slavery at age seven...
Museum (1877-present)
Old South Meeting House has been an important gathering place for nearly three centuries. Renowned for the protest meetings held here before the American Revolution when the building was termed a mouth-houseMouth-house
Mouth-house is an English translation of the German Mundhaus, a term used by Martin Luther for a Protestant Christian church, emphasizing that God's word and God's salvation is an acoustical affair....
, this National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
has long served as a platform for the free expression of ideas. Today, the Old South Meeting House is open daily as a museum and continues to provide a place for people to meet, discuss and act on important issues of the day. The stories of the men and women who are part of Old South’s vital heritage reveal why the Old South Meeting House occupies an enduring place in the history of the United States.
The museum and historic site is located at the intersection of Washington
Washington Street (Boston)
Washington Street is a street originating in downtown Boston, Massachusetts that extends southwestward to the Massachusetts-Rhode Island state line. The majority of it was built as the Norfolk and Bristol Turnpike in the early nineteenth century...
and Milk Street
Milk Street
Milk Street is a street in the financial district of Boston, Massachusetts.Milk Street was one of Boston's earliest highways. The name "Milk Street" was given to the street in 1708 due to the milk market at the location...
s and can be visited for a nominal sum. It is located near the State Street, Downtown Crossing
Downtown Crossing (MBTA station)
Downtown Crossing Station of the MBTA, located at the corner of Washington Street and Summer Street and the corner of Chauncey Street and Summer Street in Boston, is the main transfer point between the Orange Line and the Red Line....
and Park Street
Park Street (MBTA station)
Park Street is a rapid transit and light rail station of the MBTA subway system in Downtown Boston. One of the four subway hub stations, Park Street is a transfer point between the Green and Red Lines. Park Street is the fourth-busiest station in the MBTA network, with an average of 19,836 entries...
MBTA (subway) stations.
The Old South Meeting House is claimed to be the second oldest establishment existent in the United States.
Further reading
- B. Wisner. History of the Old South Church in Boston: in four sermons. 1830.
- Hamilton Andrews Hill. History of the Old South Church (Third Church) Boston: 1669-1884. v.1 + v.2. Houghton, Mifflin and Co., 1889.
External links
- The Old South Meeting House
- Old South Church in Boston (the congregation formerly located at the Meeting House)
- Old South Church. Records, 1669-1997. http://www.14beacon.org/resources/efg/efg-bosc
- Boston National Historical Park Official Website
- Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress). Old South Meetinghouse, Washington & Milk Streets, Boston, Suffolk, MA