Tour of the Church:

Built in 1840, this historic building is the fourth meeting house and there are a number of interesting features.

Pulpit

The pulpit looks much the same as it did in 1840, with the exception of the pulpit hangings.  Though the same color, the present hanging is a simplification of the elaborate, deep festooned, swag  and tasseled “pulpit curtain” of 1840.  It had an overlay of curtains, tied back on each side by fabric rosettes.  Seth Peterson has been credited with creating the massive columned pulpit and scrolls, in flame walnut ( If our information is correct, he would have been 20 at the time.)  The Communion table and minister’s “settee” complete the furnishings in the Greek Revival or Empire style.  

Tablets

Hanging behind and on either side of the pulpit are two imposing tablets.  They contain random selections from the Old and New Testament, and were a gift of Captain Gershom Bradford who had retired from the sea and was treasurer of the church in 1840.

Bible

Reverend Josiah Moore, (minister from 1834-1881), brought the Pulpit Bible, printed in 1772, from the Third Meeting House to the present church in 1840.  

Pulpit lamps and chandelier

According to one source, the whale oil pulpit lamps and chandelier were installed in 1841, as a gift of the minister, Reverent Josiah Moore.   Generator fluid and kerosene gradually replaced whale oil as cleaner burning and more efficient fuels after 1850.  When the building was electrified, about 1900, the old lamps were converted, but the chandelier was removed and replaced.   Recently the chandelier was discovered in pieces in the attic.  It was reassembled, authentically restored, electrified and returned to its original location as a gift of Mrs. Verna Orndorff.  

Clock

The clock, a gift of Ezra Weston, was brought from the Third Meeting House.  It was updated for the new building by the addition of a new, flat frame, in the Empire style.  Fashioned entirely of pine, it was painted by a “grainer” to simulate the flame walnut of the pulpit.  

Organ

The organ in the choir loft was built by the William B. D. Simmons Company, an important builder of organs in the nineteenth century, Boston.  It was purchased in part by the Ladies Association of the church, with funds raised from their Fair in 1853.  The organ was restored by the Andover Organ Company in 1967.

Pews

The church pews were considered real estate, and as such were sold by deed with annual taxes levied upon them.  Prices varied according to the desirability of location; from $25 for a pew located in the rear of the church, to the high price of $175 (in 1840 dollars) for a center row pew near the pulpit. 

Furnishing the pew became a family affair.  Scraps of carpet from Duxbury parlors and stairs were tacked to the floors and foot stools, for decoration and to minimize  winter drafts.  Most of the ragged carpeting has been removed, though some surviving samples can be found on some foot stools on the south side of the church.  Other embellishments included attached folding seats for children, racks and drawers for Bibles and prayer books.