The Old South Meeting House, in the Downtown Crossing area of Boston, Massachusetts, gained fame as the organizing point for the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773. 5,000 colonists gathered at the Meeting House, the largest building in Boston at the time.

History

The church, with its 56 m (183 ft) steeple, was completed in 1729. The congregation was gathered in 1669 when it broke off from First Church of Boston, a Congregationalist church founded by John Winthrop in 1630. The site was a gift of Mrs. Norton, widow of John Norton, pastor of the First Church in Boston. The church's first pastor was Rev Thomas Thatcher, a native of Salisbury, England. Thatcher was also a physician and is known for publishing the first medical tract in Massachusetts.

After the Boston Massacre in 1770, yearly anniversary meetings were held at the church until 1775 featuring speakers such as John Hancock and Dr. Joseph Warren. In 1773 5,000 people met in the Meeting House to debate British taxation, and after the meeting a group raided a nearby tea ship in what became known as the Boston Tea Party.

In 1775 the British occupied the Meeting House due to its association with the Revolutionary cause. The British gutted the building, filled it with dirt and then used the interior to practice horse riding. They destroyed much of the interior and stole various items including William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation (1620), a rare Pilgrim manuscript, hidden in Old South's tower.

Old South Meeting House was almost destroyed in the Great Boston Fire of 1872, and the congregation then built a new church (the "New" Old South Church at Copley Square) which remains its home to this day. Once twice a year, on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, the Old South congregation returns to Old South Meeting House for services in its ancestral home.

Today

Old South Meeting House has been an important gathering place for nearly three centuries. Renowned for the protest meetings held here before the American Revolution when the building was termed a mouth-house, this National Historic Landmark has long served as a platform for the free expression of ideas. Today, the Old South Meeting House is open daily as a museum and continues to provide a place for people to meet, discuss and act on important issues of the day. The stories of the men and women who are part of Old South’s vital heritage reveal why the Old South Meeting House occupies an enduring place in the history of the United States.

The museum and historic site is located at the intersection of Washington and Milk Streets and can be visited for a nominal sum. It is located near the State Street, Downtown Crossing and Park Street MBTA (subway) stations.

The Old South Meeting House is claimed to be the second oldest establishment existent in the United States.

Notable congregants

• Samuel Adams
• William Dawes
• Benjamin Franklin
• Samuel Sewall
• Phillis Wheatley.

References

External links

• The Old South Meeting House
• Old South Church in Boston (the congregation formerly located at the Meeting House)
• Boston National Historical Park Official Website

Images

File:Old South Meeting House in Boston MA.jpg|Old South Meeting House in 2009File:Old South Meeting House 1877 in Boston MA.jpg|Old South Meeting House, ca. 1877File:Old South Meeting House American Revolution interior in Boston MA.jpg|Old South Meeting House when the British Army used it for horse riding