The Braintree Hill Meeting House

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The History of Braintree, Vermont
Including a Memorial of Families that have resided in Town
by H. Royce Bass
Rutland, VT.:  Tuttle & Co., State Printers.  1883.
page 31-32

The Braintree Hill Meeting House.-- The dimensions of the old meeting house are not know; 
we can only say they were large.  It stood facing the west, the north side, being nearly in a 
line with the fence and horse sheds south side of the cemetery.  The latter formerly 
occupied perhaps a little more than half its present limits.  The meeting-house grounds 
were donated by Ebenezer WHITE to remain the property of the church and society as long as the 
house stands upon it.  Whenever that is removed the land reverts to his heirs.  The house had 
three entrances through the front, two directly into the side aisles of the edifice and the 
other into the base of the belfry, leading thence through a small entry to the middle aisle 
and also up a flight of stairs to the gallery.  The belfry was a peculiar structure being 
about 8 to 10 feet square, forming a front projection to the building from the ground up.  
The bell that was hung in it was presented to the church by Samuel BASS of Randolph, Mass.,
the father of Johnathan, who also gave liberally for the building of the house.  It was one 
of the finest toned bells that ever called a congregation together.  While being tolled for a 
funeral some years afterwards it was cracked.  It was then considered to be of little value 
and was sold, the proceeds being applied to a church debt.  At Boston the crack was sawed out 
and the bell was one of the best used in any church edifice in that city for many years.

As already intimated, there were three aisles, one middle and two side.  Each had a row of 
pews on both sides.  The pews were square.  The backs of the seats were paneled, the tops 
being ornamented with round rods inserted upright a few inches apart, which were surmounted 
at the height of 8 or 10 inches with a top-piece a few inches wide, the last finished on the
upper-edger with a moulding.  There was a row of pews on each side the pulpit, facing it.  
The pulpit was very high, requiring an ordinary flight of stairs to reach it.  The gallery 
occupied both sides and the west end and contained a row of pews it whole extent, next to 
the wall, like those below, each facing the east, or the pulpit.  Two rows of singers seats, 
each with a high back and a broad board for a book-rest, were on the front side of the 
gallery its whole length.  Ladies occupied the right, and gentlemen the left gallery, the 
chief singers of either sex sitting in the end gallery opposite the pulpit.  It was many 
yeas before a stove was used in the old meeting house.  Blinded by the superstition that it 
was wrong to have a comfortable fire in the house of God, people shivered in winter over 
foot-stoves.  Services were quite lengthy in those days, too.  The windows were large, high 
and without blinds.  Both inside and outside the house was perfectly plain.  Town meeting 
were held in it, 1807 to 1845 -- 39 years.

It became expedient at last to repair or rebuild meeting-house, which had become 
dilapidated, and was much too large.  Nov. 26, 1844, the town by vote offered to relinquish 
it  right thereto, provided the society would build a house and allow the town to hold 
meetings in it.  The same offer was made Jan. 2, 1845, on condition the society would 
build a town hall, and John WAITE, Levi TRACY, and James SPEAR were constituted a committee 
to confer with a similar committee from the society to build a town hall, with instructions 
not to expend more than $300 on the same.  The committee on the part of the society were 
William NICHOLS, Samuel BASS, Augustus FLINT, Robert LYON, and Austin FLAGG, who were 
empowered to expend n more that could be raised by the sale of the pew, the avails of the 
old house and the $300 voted by the town.  Work began on this basis, the new edifice being 
erected in 1845 and dedicated early in 1846.  Since this time the town has had nothing to do 
with religious matters.  The spacious ground, or "common," belong to the church have been 
the scene of may lovely times on election and especially June training days.  When the old 
house was dedicated, the roadside from Ebenezer WHITE's (William H. NICHOL's) to the corner, 
and part of the south and east sided of the common, were lined with stands or tents for 
selling eatables.  Mr. WHITE also spread a bountiful feast for hungry guests at his house.