. Early years in Smyrna and our first Old home week. s and poke bonnets have longsince passed away, but the memory of those sainted men andwomen will ever remain bright to those who knew them, forthey were among the noblest models of true manhood andwomanhood whose presence ever graced our town. As has also been before stated, William Stover built a churchon his own farm near Dark Hollow at an early day, known asthe Reform Methodist Church, but generally mentioned as theStover Meeting House. The site of the church is still pointedout by the older inhabitant but no vestige of the building nowre
. Early years in Smyrna and our first Old home week. s and poke bonnets have longsince passed away, but the memory of those sainted men andwomen will ever remain bright to those who knew them, forthey were among the noblest models of true manhood andwomanhood whose presence ever graced our town. As has also been before stated, William Stover built a churchon his own farm near Dark Hollow at an early day, known asthe Reform Methodist Church, but generally mentioned as theStover Meeting House. The site of the church is still pointedout by the older inhabitant but no vestige of the building nowremains. THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. The early history of Congregationalism in Smyrna was in-terwoven with that of Sherburne. The pioneers of both townscame largely of New England Congregational stock, from Con-necticut and Rhode Island. The fathers assembled for publicworship the second Sabbath after their arrival in 1793, and theFirst Congregational Church and Society of Sherburne was or-ganized July 6, 1794. (Hatchs History of Sherburne.) 154. FIRST CONGREGATIDNAL CHURCH- Our First Old Home Week Though they had no settled pastor or meeting house yet theymet regularly and had preaching for a number of years in eachothers log cabins or in the open forest, and worshipped Godoften under great difficulties. With the opening of the nineteenth century it was proposedto build a permanent place of worship. The question as to itslocation proved a vexing and discordant one, and the outcomewas two churches, one on Sherburne West Hill, the other nearSherburne village. The site of the former was selected to ac-commodate the people of Smyrna, and this church was com-posed largely of Smyrna people during its history of twenty-twoyears, 1802-1824. During this time the hearts of some of theWest Hill members, especially that of Mrs. Chester Hammond,were tilled with a fresh zeal for God by reading the memoirs ofMrs. Harriet Newell, one of that band of heroic missionaries,and as a result reli
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