Unitarian Universalist Church, Main Street circa 1894
Description:
"The Unitarian Universalist Church, the oldest existing religious building in Wakefield, had its beginnings on April 29, 1813, when seven South Reading men met at the Elm Street home of Col. Amos Boardman, a prominent local businessman and Revolutionary War Veteran. Joining him as founding members of the Universal Society in South Reading were Joseph Eaton, a grocer; John Rayner, a baker and Keeper of the Pound; Charles Emerson, and inventor and manufacturer Benjamin Goldthwait, a cobbler; Joshua Burnham, a clergyman; and Thomas Melborn, who is only referred to as being married to Joshua Burnham's sister. Meetings were held at members' homes or at the schoolhouse until they accumulated enough members and resources to build a Universalist Church. In 1839, the Universalist Society purchased a lot of land from John Rayner's widow, Mary, on the County Road, now Main Street, at the spot where the road divided. The Greek Revival-style building with its triangular pediment and four classical columns was dedicated on November 21, 1839. The original building was moved back 50 feet in 1859 and was raised, with the front portion of the church and steeple added. The style of the building remained unchanged into the 20th Century, with some interior and exterior alterations brought on by several fires in adjacent buildings. Major alterations occurred in 2008 when the church spire was removed due to serious structural issues throughout the steeple. The organization, founded as the Universalist Society and later as the First Universalist Society of Wakefield, became the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Wakefield when the two denominations merged in 1961. The church will celebrate its bicentennial year with festivities and a capital campaign to repair the steeple." Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 2013 Photo and information provided by Unitarian Universalist Church
