Church History

"God is faithful through the centuries."

A History of the First Congregational Church of Barrington 1722

History of the First Congregational Church of Barrington (FCCB)

The Charter of the town of Barrington was written when the land was under England’s jurisdiction. The date was 1722 and King George the 1st reigned at this time. The original Charter, which includes the land of both present day Barrington and Strafford, calls for ”A Meeting House be built for Public Worship of God within in the Term of Seven years.”

In 1731 the Proprietors of Barrington voted to build a Meeting House, but continued to table any action for 11 years. From 1742-1756 the town struggled to fund the building of the Meeting House. It was originally built in the area of what is now Ramsdell Lane. Soon after it was built, it proved to be in an inconvenient location, so the building was dismantled and moved to Oak Hill Road.

The Meeting House was a simple building and would have served as both a place of worship and a town hall. It had two doors in front and no steeple. It had a richly ornamented high pulpit and sounding board. Families would have owned box pews in the Meeting House. The pews had seats on three sides and a door to the aisle. There was no central heat in the building, parishioners brought foot stoves with hot coals to heat their pew in the cold months. There was a great galley around three sides of the room. The Meeting House served the town for over 100 years.

On June 18th, 1755, “At a Council of ten regular Churches being convened in Barrington in order for the gathering of a Church and settling of a gospel minister at which time the following persons mutually covenanted and agreed to walk together according to the rule and order of the gospel viz. Sampson Babb, William Cate, Hugh Montgomeny, Hezekiah Hayes, Nathaniel Foss, Robert Hayes, and James Marden; after which Mr. Joseph Prince was ordained as their pastor.” Joseph Prince was a blind evangelist who was influenced by George Whitefield. Prince served the community of Barrington for 13 years. Rev. Prince is buried under the pulpit in the Presbyterian Church of Newburyport alongside George Whitefield and Jonathan Parsons.

In 1818, the Church was incorporated by the State Legislature.

Rev. Benjamin Balch (the first chaplain of the Continental Navy, serving during the Revolutionary War) was called to the church in Barrington in 1784. He served as pastor for 31 years, performing many baptisms and weddings. He was reinterred into the Pine Grove Cemetery from a graveyard on Smoke Street with great fanfare on Memorial Day, 1912.

Also chaplains in the military two other Pastors of the church Rev. Samuel Merrill (served as chaplain of the Maine Calvary in the Civil War) and Rev. Raymond Hall (was called to serve as a chaplain of the Army in 1942).

In 1837, when Rev. Samuel Nichols was pastor, the Meeting House was in disrepair. The Church voted to build a new Meeting House at its present location on Franklin Pierce Highway. A committee decided to build the Meeting House with the same architectural design as a Meeting House recently completed in Stratham, NH.

November 18, 1840 the new Meeting House was dedicated. The town continued to use the old Meeting House as a town hall for an additional 10 years before it was dismantled. The new Meeting House had a steeple, a 40′ by 40′ Sanctuary, and 46 wooden pews with doors. The cost of erecting this house of worship was $2400. The logs for the new church building were cut into timbers and boards at Lock’s Mill. The sale of pews to the members largely financed the construction of the new Meeting House.

In 1847 a bell cast by G. H. Holbrook of Medway Massachusetts was obtained. Jeremiah Kingsman paid $10.00 to be the first to ring the bell. There were also carriage sheds beside and in the back of the building to be used by parishioners arriving by horse and carriage. The church was heated by a large sheet iron stove in the vestibule with a stove pipe running the length of the church. The sanctuary of the current church building is the original meeting space, with original pews, although there have been modifications through the years.

In 1891, it was voted to build a vestry on the lower floor, a kitchen and dining room on the upper floor, a bell tower and portico. The expansion was made possible in part by a donation from Mr. Orrill Hayes of New York. A furnace was installed in the basement. The church now had space for meetings, meals and fellowship. In some years the church housed the town library too.

In the 1940’s, 1950’s and 1960’s, the Meeting House was often the center of activities in the community. The church was active in outreach to the town and abroad.

In 1950 there was a split in the church membership which lead to the formation of what is now the Be Free Church in town.

In 1958 The Meeting House was again expanded with the addition of a fellowship hall and kitchen at the basement level, a library, a Sunday school room and bathrooms on the main level. This addition was made possible by the will of Frank Young and fundraising by the church membership. There were well-attended Vacation Bible School programs, and interest in Missionary Societies. The church building was often the center of community activities. There were meetings, celebrations, weddings, funerals and special events that took place within the walls of the church.

The 1970s had a keen interest in Christian Education, and in 1977 the Good Shepherd School was organized and continued to serve the community from the FCCB Campus for over 25 years. 1979 the Christian Ed building (CE) was built with FCCB suppling the funds and Good Shepherd families supplying the labor.

In the 1980’s there were Christian fellowship activities for men, women and children of Bible studies either at the Church or within the community.

In the 1990’s FCCB began to reach out to families and summer programs were popular: Adventure team and Vacation Bible School.

Hebron House was purchased in 1998 for ministry use, currently housing church offices and meeting spaces.

In the 2000’s the church became a member of the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference (“4Cs”) under the former pastor, Rev. Edward Whitman. The church changed its governing polity from Deacons and Trustees to Eldership in 2005.

In 2005, the church celebrated its 250th anniversary. Special activities were planned through out that year : a service at the former building site, an old time service, and special concerts celebrating God’s faithfulness. FCCB members researched and wrote seventeen historical booklets to celebrate the 250 years. On June 18th, FCCB's actual birthday, the community celebration included historical displays, performances, children activities, missionaries and a scrumptious chicken barbecue.

In 2013 the church building was again expanded. A new nursery space was added, a new gathering space was created for ministry needs and a welcoming entrance from the parking lot was built. A sprinkler system was installed. This was in part made possible due to an estate gift from Nancy Boyle. The 1847 bells still calls people to worship today.

Pastor Scott Littlefield came to the church as a Youth Pastor in 1998, and becoming Assistant Pastor in 2002. He was ordained in 2004 here in Barrington, New Hampshire. Pastor Littlefield became the Senior Pastor in 2005 and he continues in this role today.

Pastors

of The First Congregational Church

Barrington, New Hampshire

1. Joseph Prince 1754-1768

2. David Tenney 1771-1778

3. Benjamin Balch 1784-1815

4. Cephas Kent 1828-1830

5. Samuel H. Merrill. 1831-1835

6. Jonathan Ward 1835-1837

7. Samuel Nichols 1837-1842

8. Theodore Wells 1843-1859

9. Charles Wiley 1859-1865

10. Josiah L. Armes 1865-1869

11. Ezra Haskell 1869-1874

12. Albert Watson 1875-1876

13. James De Buchananne 1877-1878

14. Ernest T. Borchers 1878-1883

15. Frederick A. Holden 1885-1889

16. John Crosby 1889-1890 , 1891-1894

17. Aaron Beede 1890-1891

18. Daniel McIntyre 1894-1900

19. David W. Morgan 1901-1904

20. George F. Bradford 1904-1907

21. Edward S. Sanborn 1907-1911

22. Robert C. Habberly 1912-1914

23. Ezra Haskell 1914-1916 ( see # 11)

24. Francis O. Tyler 1916-1928

25. Raymond L. Hall 1928-1942

26. Melville M. Nyman 1942-1945

27. John L. Udall 1946-1950

28. Roy W. Butler 1950-1952

29. Marshall M. Stevenson 1953-1959

30. John A. Malcolmson 1959-1962

31. Robert O. Swanson 1963-1966

32. James Frase 1966-1988

33. Wayne Blanchard 1988-1993

34. Edward Whitman 1994-2005

35. Scott Littlefield 2005- Present

Church History

"God is faithful through the centuries."

A History of the First Congregational Church of Barrington 1722

Pastors

of The First Congregational Church

Barrington, New Hampshire

Historical Pictures of the Church

Church History

"God is faithful through the centuries."

A History of the First Congregational Church of Barrington 1722

Pastors

of The First Congregational Church

Barrington, New Hampshire

Historical Pictures of the Church