Chester, New Hampshire Meetinghouse circa 1773 - Weathervane Wednesday

 Today's weathervane was photographed on the steeple of the Chester, New Hampshire meetinghouse, on the north corner of Routes 102 (Raymond Road) and 121 (Chester Street).  

This historic building is the home of the Chester Congregational Baptist Church, originally constructed in 1773.  This congregation was founded in 1730, and the very first meetinghouse was built in 1731 very near the current building.  There was a remodel in 1839 when the church was lifted and turned 90 degrees from facing Chester Street and is now facing Raymond Road.  This was the year the steeple was added.  A clock was installed in 1881.  The weathervane probably dates from either the 1839 remodel or the 1881 remodel.  

In the book "History of the town of Chester, NH" page 121 there is a description of the meetinghouse from the town meeting October 16, 1772 "the steeple at the northwest end some fifteen feet above the roof, and a spire, with a weather-vane in the form of a gilt rooster, being more than one hundred feet high."  On page 636 there is an additional note:  "March 9, 1802, it was voted to raise one hundred and twenty-five dollars to be annexed to was is subscribed towards purchasing a bell.  It seems that Major Samuel Moore had purchased a weather-cock of Mr. Jones, of Newburyport, and had failed to pay him, in 1802 the town voted to pay him.  The old house was burned January 25, 1828, and present one built the same year." 

Unfortunately, the current weathervane is not the original gilded weather cock, but a simple banner. 

Currently the congregation, the town of Chester, and the Chester Historical Society, along with Granite State Communications, are raising $450,000 for extensive repairs to this historic structure.  The last time there was a major renovation was in 2005-2006 for the "Save Our Steeple" project.  You can read more about the project at this link:  https://chesternhchurch.org/meetinghouse-preservation-project/   

For the truly curious:

Chester Congregational Church Wikipedia:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_Congregational_Church   

Chester Congregational Baptist Church:  https://chesternhchurch.org/  

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Cite/Link to this post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Chester, New Hampshire Meetinghouse circa 1773 - Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 25, 2020, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2020/11/chester-new-hampshire-meetinghouse.html: accessed [access date]).