United Church of Christ in Keene
About this property
The United Church of Christ in Keene (also known as The First Church or Church at the Head of the Square) is a historic Congregational church at 23 Central Square in Keene, New Hampshire, United States. First built in 1786, and then moved and restyled in the 19th century, it is a prominent visual and architectural landmark in downtown Keene. The church and its adjacent parish house were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The United Church of Christ in Keene is sited prominently in downtown Keene, on the northern side of its Central Square. It has an elaborately decorated front facade, with the main entrance at the center in a rounded arch set in a projecting pavilion. The pavilion is fronted by fluted Corinthian columns, with paired pilasters on the facade on either side of the pavilion. The columns and pilasters rise to an entablature and modillioned cornice. A tower 130 feet (40 m) in height rises through five stages to a spire and cross. The oldest portion of this church is its timber frame, a 50-by-70-foot (15 by 21 m) structure that was built in 1786 as the town's fourth meeting house. In 1828 the meeting house was rotated and moved, nearly to its present location, and the Greek Revival temple front with Doric columns was added, as was the tower and steeple. These alterations were supposedly inspired by the recent (1817–18) construction of the Third Fitzwilliam Meetinghouse. In 1859-60 the church was again moved, this time a short distance to make room for an enlarged sanctuary, as designed by the Worcester firm of Boyden & Ball. The building exterior has been little altered since; the steeple was recreated from photographs after the original was toppled by the New England Hurricane of 1938. In 1924 a two-story brick parish house was built next to the church. National Register of Historic Places listings in Cheshire County, New Hampshire Media related to United Church of Christ in Keene at Wikimedia Commons
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was United Church of Christ in Keene listed on the National Register?
United Church of Christ in Keene was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 9, 1982.
What type of historic resource is United Church of Christ in Keene?
United Church of Christ in Keene is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for United Church of Christ in Keene?
The period of significance for United Church of Christ in Keene is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near United Church of Christ in Keene?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near United Church of Christ in Keene will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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