Allenstown Meeting House

Allenstown Meeting House
Allenstown Meeting House
Location Deerfield Rd., Allenstown, New Hampshire
Coordinates 43°9′37″N 71°22′53″W / 43.16028°N 71.38139°W / 43.16028; -71.38139Coordinates: 43°9′37″N 71°22′53″W / 43.16028°N 71.38139°W / 43.16028; -71.38139
Area 0.4 acres (0.16 ha)
Built 1815 (1815)
Architect Kenison, James, Samuel & Nathaniel; et al.
Architectural style Federal
NRHP reference # 04001327[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP December 06, 2004
Designated NHSRHP July 26, 2004[2]

The Allenstown Meeting House (also known as Old Allenstown Meeting House; Church of Christ; Christian Church) is a historic meeting house on Deerfield Road in Allenstown, New Hampshire. Built in 1815, it is New Hampshire's only surviving Federal-style single-story meeting house to serve both religious and civic functions. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004,[1] and is presently owned and maintained by the town.

Description and history

The Allenstown Meeting House stands in a rural setting on the north side of the town, on the north side of Deerfield Road west of New Rye Road. Although it is within the boundaries of Bear Brook State Park, it is currently owned and maintained by the town. It is a single-story wood-frame structure with a gable roof, resting on a granite foundation. It has a heavy timber frame and is sheathed in wooden clapboards. The main facade faces the road to the south, and is five bays wide, with a central door flanked by two windows on either side. The interior has retained its original box pews and pulpit. The northwest corner of the building was damaged by arson fire in 1985, but has been sensitively restored. Interior features include a slightly sloping wooden floor, to improve visibility by people sitting in the rear of the hall.[3]

The meeting house was built in 1815 on land donated by Judge Hall Burgin, originally intended as a church. The church proprietors were financially unable to complete the building, so the town stepped in to finance its completion. It served as the town's main civic and religious building from then until 1876, when it was abandoned for civic purposes, and the small Protestant congregation dispersed to other area churches. In 1908 the town deeded its ownership share to a local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), which oversaw its maintenance. After an arsonist attempted to burn it down in 1985, the DAR chapter offered it to the state, which undertook some restoration in 1993-94. The town acquired it from the state in 2004. It is the only surviving single-story meeting house of the period in New Hampshire.[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ "New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places". New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  3. 1 2 "NRHP nomination for Allenstown Meeting House". National Park Service. Retrieved 2014-10-16.
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