A BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF PAXTON

In the mid-eighteenth century, the Congregational Church was the established
church of Massachusetts Bay Colony. The only grounds for establishing
a new community were to construct a meetinghouse as a place for public
worship. By Puritan law, Sunday church worship was mandatory. Newborn
infants, by church law, were to be baptized within forty days after
birth.

These were the conditions which faced the settlers of the region that
consisted of the southern portion of Rutland and the northern portion
of Leicester. In order to attend church, they had to travel more than
three miles either to Rutland or to Leicester through snow and swamplands
with the constant fear of Indian attack.

A petition was presented to His Majesty’s Great and General Court in
October 1743 to establish a new municipality in order to build a meetinghouse
in this remote area. After twenty-two years of petitioning, the Parish
and the Town of Paxton was authorized in 1765.

The meetinghouse was erected on donated pastureland in June 1766, near
where the flagpole is presently located on the Common. After the Congregational
Church was disestablished from the State, the church was moved to its
present site, a steeple was added, and a Paul Revere & Sons bell was installed.
It was the Sexton’s duty to ring the curfew at 9 o’clock each evening.
When someone died, the Sexton would toll the bell one stroke for each
year of the deceased person’s age.

The safety of the parishioners was a main concern during the beginning
years of the church and many of the construction features of today’s church
building are inherited from those first few years. Often, the local militia
company escorted parishioners to church. On entering the sanctuary, one
faced the congregation, as one does today. Men and women, who sat in separate
sections, used separate staircases. Holes still exist near the base of
the clock (in the steeple) to allow shooting firearms at attackers.

Sunday services were much longer than they are today, often lasting
three to four hours. The Minister used an hourglass, which was turned
over several times since the sermons lasted two to three hours. During
the winter months, foot stoves were brought to services; women carried
hot stones in their muffs, and the Minister preached in overcoat and mittens.
A Tything Man had a long pole with a brass knocker on one end with which
to rap sleeping males, and with a rabbit’s foot or feather on the other
end for sleeping females.

Following those difficult early years, the church has grown, and in
1956 an addition was built to accommodate Fellowship Hall, church offices,
a chapel and an enlarged kitchen. Because of the growth of the church,
a further addition was dedicated on October 30, 1988, containing a new
chapel, a Christian Education office, 5 new classrooms, and much needed
storage space. In addition, existing space was renovated for a new general
office and Pastor’s Study, a new choir room, and the entire building was
made handicapped accessible via a chair lift. A Youth Room was created
for the strong youth program that is still maintained. Average attendance
continues to increase with high activity by all age groups in this only
Protestant faith community in Paxton. Welcome!