Chapter 4 - Beginning A New Town

The town meeting house was not the Town Hall of present day. There were no offices for all town officials or for any town official. The meeting house was just that, a place for the town's inhabitants to meet to discuss their needs and those of the Town. The most important use of the meeting house, however, was not even civil or political, but religious.
 

Colonial towns were formed with the specific purpose of providing a religious center for a group of settlers. Because of the difficulty of travel, houses in which to worship their God each Sunday must be convenient to the worshipers. The incorporation of Bellingham in 1719, specifically required the town to hire a minister. In order to do so, they had to have a meeting house.
 

That first town meeting set up a committee of John Darling, Nicholas Cook Sr, John Corbet, John Holbrook to consider a place to set the meeting House. Their deliberations were short, for on March 28 "then meett togather to consider of a conveniant place to seett the meetting House and have concluded and determinaned by vote that the place shall be btwen the old Road that leads from Mendon to Wrentham and the new road which leads from Cornelius Darlins to Wrentham by Elezer Medcalfs which place the metting house is to stand or thare aboutes is the place on which thare is a certain heap of Stones laid up togather."
 

This location did not satisfy everyone for at the meeting of October 31, that vote was "Recalled and Disanulled and voide." Another committee of seven was appointed to build the meeting house. Shortly thereafter, on November 14, 1720, the meeting house was sited. "It was Voted that the meetting house should be sett whare thare is a stake Standing near Wathearlys Corner with a heap of stones laid about said stake and a pine tree marked said Stake Standing in an old road that goes from Mendon to Wrentham. The demention of the meeting house Voted to be fourty foott long, thirty foott wide, eighttean foott betwen joynts. The Stated price for the Labours for a narrow axx man finding himself tow shillings and six pence pr day, Broad axx men three shillings pr day finding themselves."
 

The placement of the meeting house has no real importance today, except for historical curiosity. Weatherly, a founder of the town, owned approximately sixty acres near what is now called Bellingham center. By reference in subsequent road layouts and deeds to Isaac and Elias Thayer, the location can be narrowed to the area of the present High School. The exact location, has been lost to time.
 

The Bellingham Proprietors of the Common Land controlled the land. Even though the Town had voted, their vote was necessary to actually provide the land. They met on November 22, 1720 and "voated that Thirty acres of Land shall be Laid out where ye Town of Bellingham have agreed to Sett their meeting house for ye accommadation of Sd house and for a Training field and such other publick use as ye propriators shall here after determine to be laid out at ye judgement of ye committee before any more be Laid out to an particulier person on ye account of an Devision."
 

Lest we forget, the Town was still located in the wilderness. Although there had not been any Indian activity for a number of years, it was not being over cautious to keep a militia prepared. The Proprietors did not give unlimited use of the land, they attempted to keep some control. Fortunately or unfortunately, there does not seem to have been any further followup by the Proprietors on this issue.
 

The meeting house dimensions were set by the original vote. What the building looked like is not really known. It was obviously a simple building, probably one room, constructed of wood. The meeting of November 23, 1721"Passed by a voat that y^e Meeting house shall be Larthed & plaistered with White lime. It was Voated also there Should be an alley of four foot wide through the body of the meeting house and also an alley of four foot wide between the Ends of the Soals & the outside of Sd Meeting House." Nothing more was written to describe the building.
 

Work on the meeting house began soon after. There is no record of how long it took to complete, or when the first meeting was held there. The Town meeting of March 18, 1723 "Voted that Jonathan Hayward shall have 0-9-0 shiling for drawing timber for the meeting hous. Voted that those men that worked about lathing the meeting hous 0-3-0 shiling a day.....Voted that Samuel Tompson for cutting for the meeting house 0-2-6...... Voted the town have granted Cornilus Darling 0-14-0 Shilling for Sweeping the meeting house this year in suing."
 

The subsequent history of this first meeting house was spotty. All town meetings were held there as well as the meetings of the church every Sunday, when the town could get a preacher, which, after 1740, was seldom.
 

It was not well kept up. Over the next couple of decades, there were constant expense items for repair. In 1739, there was an attempt to move the meeting house to a location north of the Charles River as part of a scheme to annex portions of the town of Mendon to Bellingham. Similar attempts were made through the 1740's. None ever seemed to be more than wishful thinking.
 

In 1747, the glass in the windows was apparently gone for the annual meeting "Put to vote whether Walsingham Chilson be imployed in mending the Glass windows of the meeting house naleing bords over the Glass as much as he shall think is necessary. Passed Affirmatively"
 

The disrepair of the building and/or its inconvenience, led the townspeople to hold many of their meetings, beginning with a meeting on March 7, 1750, at the new north meeting house. The latter was constructed by the newly formed Baptist Church in 1743 and was located on the side of the hill at the western end of High Street. The town held meetings at both the old meeting house and the Baptist meeting house until 1761. The use of a Baptist building for a town meeting was unusual in Massachusetts at the time. The largely Puritan (Congregational) settlers did not easily accept any other religion. The Puritan faith was as close to a state religion as was to be found in the early colonies. Bellingham, with a large Baptist population, was an exception, though not always a harmonious one.
 

The first attempt to tear down the old building came on May 23, 1757 when it was "put to Vote whether the Town will act on that article in the Warrant about pulling down our old meeting house & it passed in the negative." The concern of at least the non Baptist portion of the population for the meeting house was evident through the next decade. In 1761, there was a falling out between the Baptist Church and the remainder of the Town. For the next 13 years, meetings were to be held in the old meeting house. Whatever the disagreement, it must have been difficult for the old meeting house was cold and often leaked. Yet the town did not want to spend money to repair or replace it.
 

In 1761, the Town not only attempted to repair the building, but set up a committee to establish the town center so that a new meeting house could be set.
 

In 1763, it was voted to put the new meeting house on a knoll across the Charles River, but a subsequent meeting voted that out. By that year there were three meeting houses in town. A third one had been built by a group in South Bellingham, probably near the present Crooks Corner. It was originally begun by a group of Baptists who differed with their bretheren. It later became home to a Universalist sect and then a tavern.
 

Articles to repair the old meeting house appeared infrequently over the next few years. They were usually turned down. Apparently by 1773 the condition of the building was at a new low. The town meetings were still held in the building but an article on the annual meeting asked "To see if the Town will vote to pull down the Old meeting house and with the same meterals erect a House fit for the town to hold town meeting in and to perfix a place to set it up." The Town voted to pull down the old building and sell it for fourteen pounds before May. A committee of three men John Metcalf, John Corbitt, and Ezra Foristell were chosen to arrange the sale.
 

The May meeting came and went and no action was taken. The next annual meeting on March 2, 1774 was held for the first time since 1761 in the "Baptis North Meeting House". Again the topic of disposing of the old meeting house was debated and action taken. "Put to vote wheather the town will alienate their right in the towns old meeting House as it stands to David Jones & such others as shall Associate with him Provided at the adjournment of this meeting the said David Jones & his Associates shall give Security to the Selectmen as the town shall then agree that they will Erect a House 26 feet Long & 22 feet wide & 9 feet studd to be Improved by the town to hold town meetings in & for the sd Jones & Associates to Improve for a School House at all times only on Town Meeting Days. Said House to be Erected near the Place Called the Gate Between sd David Jones house & the Late Thomas Baxturs house. The above Vote Pased in the Affermative."
 

Despite that vote, the next meeting on April 4 was again in the old building. The town voted on its sale through various schemes again in May, again in June and in October 1774. The building still stood and the fourth Monday in October 1774, the final meeting was held there. All other schemes having failed, the parts of the building were auctioned off to the highest bidder and arrangements were made to get payment.
 

"Voted to Sel the frame of the town meeting hous to the Highest bidder. Ezra Foristell being the Highest bidder struck of to him for 1-11-0.
 

Struck of to David Jones 0-4-0
 

9-4-0
 

Voted that the above named Parsons that bought the meterals of the Town Meeting HOuse pay the sum that is set against his name to the Town Treasuer by the first day of march next."
 

The first meeting house was finally history. For the next twenty seven years the town would hold its meetings at the Baptist meeting house, now called Mr. Alden's meeting house, after its pastor, and at the dwelling house and inn of Elias Thayer. Meetings seemed to be held at one or the other without order or reason. About half at each place. Finally in 1802 the town built another meeting house, one that survives up to the present day.