Mount Vernon Church, Boston
Mount Vernon Church (established 1842) in Boston, Massachusetts, was a Congregational church located on Beacon Hill (1844–1891) and later in Back Bay (1892–1977).[2]
History
Beacon Hill, 1844–1891
The Mount Vernon Church was organized on June 1, 1842 and the church building on Ashburton Place in Beacon Hill was completed the next year.[3] Senior ministers to serve the congregation at this location included Edward Norris Kirk (1842-1874);[4] and Samuel Edward Herrick (1871-1904).[5]
Congregants included Dwight L. Moody and Daniel Safford.[6] In the 1850s some of the congregation formed the Mount Vernon Association of Young Men.[7]
In 1893 after the Tremont Temple burned down, its Baptist congregation held services in the Mt. Vernon Church building, recently vacated by the Mt. Vernon congregation.[8]
Back Bay, 1892–1977
Around 1892 C. Howard Walker designed a new church building in the Back Bay, on the corner of Beacon Street and Massachusetts Avenue. The new building included stained glass windows made by John LaFarge.[9]
Senior Ministers at the Back Bay location included:
- Samuel E. Herrick (until 1904)
- Albert Parker Fitch 1905 -1909
- James E. Richard 1909 - 1918
- Sidney Lovett 1919-1932
- Carl Heath Kopf 1933-1948
- Dwight C. Smith 1949 - 1953
- Chalmers Coe 1954 - 1956 [3]
In 1970, the membership of the Mount Vernon Church closed the church building and entered into a covenant with the Old South Church in Boston to worship in fellowship with the Old South at its church at 645 Boylston St., (Copley Square) Boston, MA 02116.[10] Mount Vernon Church retains separate officers and budget, an overlapping membership with Old South, and separate status as a member church in the Metropolitan Boston Association of the United Church of Christ.
A fire in 1978 destroyed the church building. In 1983 the remains were remodelled by architect Graham Gund as the "Church Court Condominiums."[11]
References
- ↑ King's hand-book of Boston. 1889
- ↑ Boston Directory. 1858
- 1 2 Congregational Library & Archive. "Boston, Massachusetts. Mount Vernon Congregational Church. Records, 1842-1970".
- ↑ David Otis Mears. Life of Edward Norris Kirk. Boston: Lockwood, Brooks and company, 1877
- ↑ Tribute to Rev. Samuel E. Herrick. Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Second Series, Vol. 18 (1903 - 1904)
- ↑ Ann Eliza Bigelow Turner Safford. A memoir of Daniel Safford. Boston: American tract society, 1861
- ↑ Heather D. Curtis. Visions of Self, Success, and Society among Young Men in Antebellum Boston. Church History, Vol. 73, No. 3 (Sep., 2004)
- ↑ Tremont Temple burned; one of Boston's most famous buildings destroyed. New York Times, March 20, 1893
- ↑ Julie L. Sloan and James L. Yarnall. Art of an Opaline Mind: The Stained Glass of John La Farge. American Art Journal, Vol. 24, No. 1/2 (1992)
- ↑ Congregational Library & Archive. "Boston, Massachusetts. Mount Vernon Congregational Church. Records, 1842-1970".
- ↑ Nancy Carlson Schrock. Images of New England: Documenting the Built Environment. American Archivist, Vol. 50, No. 4 (Fall, 1987)
Images
- Detail of map of Boston, 1852, showing location of church
- Portrait of minister Edward N. Kirk; from a photo by Masury & Silsbee, 19th century
- Portrait of Samuel E. Herrick, minister
- Mt. Vernon Church, corner Beacon Street and Massachusetts Ave., Boston (built 1892)
Further reading
- The confession of faith and covenant of the Mount Vernon Congregational Church in Boston, Mass.; organized June 1, 1842. Boston: T.R. Marvin, 1852.
- Pauline Holmes, One Hundred Years of Mount Vernon Church, 1842-1942 (Boston, 1942)
- P. A. M. Taylor. A Beacon Hill Domestic: The Diary of Lorenza Stevens Berbineau. Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Third Series, Vol. 98 (1986), pp. 90–115. Lorenza attended the church in the 1850s-1860s.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mount Vernon Church, Boston. |
- Congregational Library, Boston. Mount Vernon Congregational Church. Records, 1842-1970
- Historical Sketch (1844)
- Flickr. Images related to church
- Flickr. Church Court condos, 2008
- Flickr. Church Court condos, 2010
- Flickr. Church Court condos, 2010
- Flickr. Church Court condos, 2010
Coordinates: 42°21′32.7″N 71°3′44.57″W / 42.359083°N 71.0623806°W