Fourth Meeting House (1729-1824)

From the collections of PVMA • Digital image © Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Assoc. • Image use information

About this item

Nathaniel Hitchcock (1812-1900) made this sketch from memory when he was 18 years old. The meetinghouse was built  in Deerfield, Massachusetts, in 1729, and served both civic and religious purposes. The town remodeled the building in 1768. A newly gilded weathervane in the form of a rooster topped the steeple at the north end with a belltower and clock. This replaced the old center spire. The town also painted the building a dark stone color with white window frames and dark brown doors. New architectural features included a double door with a scrolled pediment and pedimented window caps on the first floor, imitating examples set by numerous domestic structures in Deerfield and other towns in the Connecticut River Valley in this time period. Meetinghouses, usually the largest buildings in town, often occupied the highest point of land to insure visibility from a distance and to act as landmarks for travelers.

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Details

Item typeDrawing
CreatorHitchcock, Nathaniel
Datecirca 1830
PlaceDeerfield, Massachusetts
TopicReligion, Church, Meetings & Revivals
EraNational Expansion and Reform, 1816–1860
MaterialPaper
Process/FormatGraphite, pencil
Catalog #2000.03.500
View this item in our curatorial database →
Hitchcock, Nathaniel. Fourth Meeting House (1729-1824). Drawing. ca. 1830. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/2000-03-500/. Accessed on December 6, 2024.

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