Our History

First Parish Church in Plymouth, Massachusetts, is the birthplace of religious and civic freedom in America.

Envisioned to be a lasting memorial to the Pilgrims, the present 1899 Meetinghouse sits on the site where the Mayflower’s courageous passengers gathered their church nearly 400 years ago at the base of Historic Burial Hill.

With continuous records dating back to 1606 in Scrooby, England, where the Separatists were forced to worship in secret in William Brewster’s manor house, Plymouth’s First Parish is possibly the oldest continuous western spiritual institution in America.

Through its Norman architecture, unaltered Arts & Crafts interior, and unique stained glass windows, the 1899 Meetinghouse celebrates the freedoms established by the Pilgrims—freedoms that continue to draw immigrants to America from around the world: civil and religious liberty; democracy and the rights of the individual; freedom of speech; freedom of the press, and the right to trial by a jury of one’s peers.

In 2014 the Meetinghouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior due to its historic importance and architectural significance. Like the previous four Pilgrim Meetinghouses, First Parish remains the centerpiece of Plymouth’s historic Town Square.

History of the First Parish Meeting House

During the Pilgrims’ first winter in Plymouth, described by William Bradford as the “winter of death,” the settlers worshiped in a small wooden structure on Leyden Street, near the harbor. A fort constructed on Burial Hill in 1622 served as a place of worship until the Pilgrims built their first church (a simple square structure) on the north side of Town Square in 1648. (Some sources cite 1637).

As the congregation grew and the 1648 Meetinghouse fell into disrepair, it was replaced in 1683 by the second Meetinghouse. Set on common land at the highest point in Town Square, it symbolically faced Leyden St. and Plymouth Harbor.

Until 1744 the church and the town were one entity, with the Meetinghouse serving both the religious and civic needs of the town. In 1744, however, the town gave the church the land upon which the second Meetinghouse sat at the base of Historic Burial Hill, and the division between church and “state” was complete. At this time a third church replaced the 1683 structure and remained in use until 1831, when a fourth Meetinghouse, a large gothic wooden church, was constructed.

Following the loss of the fourth Pilgrim church to fire in 1892, the congregation initiated plans for a new meetinghouse that would, in the words of former First Parish minister George N. Marshall and co-writer Arthur B. Whitney, “enshrine the values and faith that have made our nation great.” Such vision became reality thanks to many generous donors throughout America, and the cornerstone was laid in 1896. Completed in 1897, the fifth Pilgrim Meetinghouse was dedicated on Forefathers’ Day, December 21, 1899.