Our Building: A Historical Timeline
A brief history of over a century and a half of care and maintenance
1752 – Hampstead Congregational Church (HCC) begins with 68 members; services held in The Old Meetinghouse (constructed 1745-1748)
1837 – First church building constructed on Main Street
1861 – Deemed unsafe, the church is torn down
1861 – New church building is constructed on same site
1886 – Vestry added, choir and pipe organ in balcony
1901 – New bell installed; repairs made after lightning strikes; new pipe organ placed in front of sanctuary
1917 – Electric lights installed
1949 – Redecoration of sanctuary
1955 – Church purchased and installed new bell (to replace old bell which cracked in 1918 when celebrating end of WWI)
1965 – Hadley Hall addition, dedicated in 1967, including classrooms and stage; vestry remodeled to add offices and minister’s study
1973 – Spire and belfry removed, repaired and reinstalled to replaced deteriorated structural supports and main beams
1987 – Steeple repaired to replace rotted timbers that caused bell to fall partway through support platform
1989 – Sanctuary painted and upper vestry remodeled to divide space into the Davis Room and two Sunday School rooms
1990 – Stone wall adjacent to church moved closer to building to make room for widening of Timberland Road
1997 – Memorial case installed in upper vestry
1997 – Major capital campaign funds construction of The Dobson Fellowship Center and expansion of Hadley Hall including five new classrooms, handicapped-accessible office, additional restrooms, relocated stage, and elevator providing access to all levels of the church
2013 – Handicap ramp replaced by Boy Scouts
2017 – Efficient LED lighting installed to replace fluorescent fixtures
2018/2019 - Sanctuary sound system upgraded
2018 – Robert Bob Dobson Memorial Bench and Garden dedicated
2019 & 2020 – Video system upgraded to allow streaming live broadcasts of church services during COVID 19 pandemic
2021 – Security system updated. Security lighting improved, including new wall lights on side doors, and addition of motion-activated lighting along Timberlane walkway, parking lot and playground
2021 - Removed trees between parking lot and Timberlane Road and replaced with new rhododendrons
2022 – Handicap door replaced; Boy Scouts renovated Flower Room and converted men's room in basement into useable storage space
2022 – “Strengthening our Foundation, Investing in our Future” Capital Campaign launched to scrape and paint building’s exterior; replace floors in Hadley Hall and kitchen; replace carpet in foyer and downstairs hallway and in the women’s and kids’ bathrooms; repair belfry and steeple; repair/replace front entry doors and sanctuary windows.
2023 - Steeple and belfry repair completed. This included the removal of damaged siding and plywood from the spire down to the base, wrapping the spire in a waterproof underlayment; installing new plywood and specially-milled cedar corners and clapboards, scraping the interior and exterior of the bell tower, installing galvanized screen to the open arches of the bell tower to keep out birds, priming all surfaces, and applying two finish coats of white oil-based paint.
2024 - Bell-ringing apparatus repaired including new A-frame stand and head bolt. Our bell rings again!
Want to know more?
Pick up a copy of our church history, available free of charge at the church!
