Some old time meeting houses of the Connecticut Valley . a door facingsouth and four windows in each side. The pulpitprobably stood opposite the door. The house was notfully provided with pews for fifty years after itserection and galleries were not added for many the Indian raid on Hatfield in 1667 the housewas fortified by a line of palisades, which enclosed iton the four sides. In 1682 a move was made topurchase a bell. The bell was duly obtained andcontinued to do service for about three quarters of acentury. It was in this house that Edwards was preachingat the time the first
Some old time meeting houses of the Connecticut Valley . a door facingsouth and four windows in each side. The pulpitprobably stood opposite the door. The house was notfully provided with pews for fifty years after itserection and galleries were not added for many the Indian raid on Hatfield in 1667 the housewas fortified by a line of palisades, which enclosed iton the four sides. In 1682 a move was made topurchase a bell. The bell was duly obtained andcontinued to do service for about three quarters of acentury. It was in this house that Edwards was preachingat the time the first great revival occurred under hislabors, when some three hundred members wereadded to the church. Sunday, March 13,1737, occurredin this building the accident to which reference is sofrequently made in histories of the time. According tothe tradition, Edwards had taken for his text,Behold yedespisers, wonder and perish, and was well throughhis introductory remarks, when the gallery fell with afearful crash, creating consternation in the congregation 20. THIKD (i HOlsF.—) IT:!* and giving terrifying emphasis to the preacherssolemn words. The framework of the gallery and itsoccupants fell upon the people seated beneath, butfortunately no one was seriously injured. One natu-rally infers that this accident hastened the erection ofa new house of worship. The old meeting house, after having stood forover seventy years, had become weak and was toosmall for the congregation. In 1735 the town votedby a large majority to erect a new house of structure was seventy feet long, forty six feetwide, and had a steeple at the end. A committee was appointed to view several wellknown meeting houses and prepare a design for thenew edifice. The new structure resembled meetinghouses standing at the time in Boston, Springfield,Hartford, and Longmeadow. It stood in the presenthighway about in line with the center doorway of thepresent house of worship. The steeple was at
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublisherslsn, bookyear1911
