Located on the Pemaquid Peninsula on Harrington Road, the Harrington Meeting House overlooks the Eastern Branch of the Johns River and the Harrington Burial Ground. The frame of the Georgian-style meeting house was originally constructed in 1772 in the geographic center of Bristol, but after much discussion about where the town's meeting house should be constructed it was moved to another location and completed in 1775. The meeting house was moved again in the 1840s to its current location, facing the Old Harrington Road. It was at this time the interior of the meeting house was altered from the typical meeting house plan of box pews facing a raised pulpit and reconfigured to a so-called "back-to" church. The balconies and pew boxes were removed and the upper story windows and the doors on all but one elevation were closed off. The pulpit and ceiling were lowered and the entry on the street facing elevation was reconfigured. During repair work in the 1960s, the original openings were discovered, and the Harrington Meeting House was restored to its original appearance. The main entrance, located in the center of the south cemetery facing elevation, is adorned with pilasters supporting a triangular pediment. The second floor windows sit just below roof line and full height pilasters support a wide cornice below the side gabled roof.
Year Listed: 1970
For more information: https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=80cf5bc8-0905-4d97-bc0d-184e04eb7d10