Old Ship Timeline
| 1635 - 1681 | First meeting house was a log structure with belfry and palisade on nearby hill. |
| July 26-28 1681 | Frame of new meeting house raised by townspeople. Each member of the Parish was assessed his share of the cost. The total cost was 430 poounds. |
| Jan 8 1682 | Church dedicated by Rev. John Norton. Oaken benches throughout. Dimensions are 55 ft by 45 ft. Posts are 21 ft high. |
| 1717 | Cohasset is made Second Parish. Church is built, and the minister is ordained in 1721. |
| 1729 - 1731 | East wind is added (14 ft). Overhead is sealed and the square posts rounded. Pulpit is moved from east wall to north wall. |
| 1734 | The inside walls are plastered. |
| 1746 | Third Parish (South Hingham) is set off. IT became Second Parish when Cohasset became a township in 1770. |
| 1755 | West wing is added (14 ft). Overall dimensions are now 55 ft by 75 ft. Paid for by selling pew ground to highest bidders. First square pews are built along the walls and under the pulpit.
A new pulpit and a belfry are added. |
| 1780 | Town meetings are no longer held in the Meetinghouse. |
| 1791 | The parish votes to tear down the Meetinghouse. The vote is rescinded the following year. Repairs are made, more pews are built, and the west vestibule is added. |
| 1792 | The West (street side) vestibule with the false door is added. No steps were ever added. |
| 1817 | All the seats are pews. |
| 1822 | First heat -- stoves are added to each side of the center aisle. |
| 1869 | The foundation is replaced and a cellar added. The flooring is replaced.
In order to make it look Victorian, the pews are replaced by curving benches, carpets and draperies are added, new diamond windows are added (what the Victorians thought were similar to the original), and the organ and choir are moved to a platform next to the pulpit. All this is paid for by the sale of the pews at public auction. |
| 1870 | First light -- lamps are installed |
| 1930 | The Meetinghouse is restored by Edgar T. P. Walker of Smith & Walker Firm. Money is given by Eben Howard Gay, the great, great grandson of Ebenezer Gay, the third minister. They retained both 17th and 18th century characteristics.
The original hour glass is still in use. The present bell is the fifth one. The ceiling is removed upon "rediscovery" of the large rafters and ceiling jousts. |
