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.
Want to know more?
Pick up a copy of our church history, available free of charge at the church!
