Church History

The religious life of Berwick began with an order from the general court in Kittery in 1659, whereby three churches were authorized, two in Kittery and one in Newichawannock or Oldfields. The first building was located on Vine St., [South Berwick], not far from the old [Chadbourne] cemetery. John Emerson, a Harvard graduate, served the church for a few years, although he was not ordained. The first building fell into disrepair and a new one was authorized in 1701. The first settled minister was called in 1693, the Rev. John Wade. He was succeeded by Rev. Jeremiah Wise, in 1707 who was called from Wells. He stayed 49 years.

The minister in those days was considered to be a little lower than the Deity. Young people were required to curtsey low when they met him on the street. In later years the church had a deacon, Richard Shackley, who wore a red hat to services. When he was pleased with the preaching, he would stand up; otherwise he remained seated.

The third church was located in what is now South Berwick Village, built in the pastorate of Rev. John Thomson, after the Revolutionary War. The established church was Congregational and was supported by taxes. Lands were set aside for the support of the church, from which the minister could get part of his living. This land was located on Vine Street.

Everyone was required to pay the church tax except those of those of the Quaker faith. This granting of rights of citizenship indicated a fairer spirit than was found in New Hampshire where the Quakers were persecuted.

The present pulpit in the Congregational Church in South Berwick is very old and must have come from a number of the older buildings. That type of pulpit, with two large, round uprights on the front is found in quite a number of old Congregational churches in the state. The old meeting house on Beech Ridge in North Berwick [no longer in existence] has such a pulpit, probably one of the first in the church.

The Blackberry Hill Congregational Church came into being in 1755 when a parish meeting at South Berwick or Oldfields released some members who lived in the north parish to form a new church. Among the families names were Smith, Hodsden, Brackett, Hameleton, Holms, Knight, Gray, Wentworth, Frost, Gowen, Shorey, Lord, Stone, Brown and Fogg. The church was built on the Blackberry Hill Road not far from the four corners. The site can be seen on the right on a rise of ground. Opposite, the old inn still stands, kept by Jacob wentworth. The church continued until 1828, when th meetings ceased because of the growth of Great Falls and the beginning of the Congregational Church in Great Falls. The building burned in 1848. The porch was saved and put on the inn across the street. It was taken dow in 1962.

Although the Constitution of the United States spoke of the separation of church and state, it was not until Jefferson got the Bill of Rights added that the state church was disallowed. Even then some states were stubborn. Connecticut disestablished the church in 1818 and Massachusetts in 1833. Maine became a state in 1820 and freedom of religion followed. The Friends and the Baptists were the first to feel the persecution. The Pilgrims and the Puritans too soon forgot their crusade for freedom for worship and soon relapsed into the patterns of the old world. John Greenleaf Whittier has a poem that tells of the three Quaker women who were whipped at the tail of a cart out of Dover, with instructions to the sheriff of each town through which they passed to administer ten more lashes. At Salisbury, NH the sheriff stopped the inhuman debacle and freed the women. They came back, but to Oldfields. There they were given rights of citizenship, but Shubael Dummer protested when they tried to start a church.

Then they went up onto the Oak Woods Road in North Berwick and there started a village, with a church and a store. There they lived for some years, when they moved to North Berwick village.

The Baptists began their battle for religious freedom in Boston. In 1681 the Boston group was their authority. In Kittey the Baptists tried again and again to start a church. Rev. William Scriven was fined for every meeting that he held, but the meetings went on. Eighty-five years later the Baptists were able to start a church in Berwick. In 1768 Elder Joseph Emery preached. The first ordained elder was Rev. William Hooper, who came from Pine Hill Road, Berwick. That was the first Baptist Church in Maine. The pastor had to sell a cow to pay for the church taxes to the established church!

Theological troubles plagued the Baptists and those who believed in Free Will went up onto the Oak Woods Road and built what has been called Elder Lord's Meeting House [extant] in 1781. The church still stands and services are sometimes held there. Thus we see that the Oak Woods section of North Berwick was the refuge for Quakers and Baptists.

In 1825 a meeting house was built on the Beech Ridge Road. The Methodists met there for a while, as did others. The Free Will Baptists took over the church and held meetings, organizing a society. Residents of the area point out the parsonage which was built for a minister, but was never occupied by a minister. Rev. Mr. Task, a negro preacher, served the parish very successfully for a while. The church broke up at one time, because they couldn't agree on the use of liquor by its members.

Before the Blackberry Hill Church ceased in 1828 the Methodists had begun meetings in the Cranberry Hill section of Berwick - about 1810. Francis Asbury was said to have preached at some of these meetings. Ministers came down from Norway Plains (Rochester) and helped start the Methodist interests. Because of disagreement over the location of a building a society was not formed until 1837. Then a church was built in the Worster Neighborhood. But the building burned that year from an overheated stove. The next effort was a building at Mathew's Mills in 1838.

The Methodist Church continued there for some years. With the growth of Great Falls, it was voted in 1876 to move the church to the growing Berwick Village. Charles Coffin remembers the moving of the building, having a small part in it with his father. A vestry and a tower were added. During the pastorate of Rev. W. P. Merrill the church was enlarged - in '95 - '98.

In the centennial year, 1910, a fire damaged the church considerably. The pastor, T. P. Baker, called a meeting at once and a committee was appointed: J. W. Shaw, J. H. Downs, D. H. Horne, and E. F. Gowell. Another fire broke out May 31st, after Rev. C. W. Wallace had begun his ministry. This fire was worse than the first. By Dec. 4th the church had been renovated, with a new pipe organ from Hook and Hastings Co., a new roof and fresh paint for the entire church. The centennial service was conducted on that date.

Many of the pastors will be remembered through the years. Among them was Rev. Joseph Griffiths, who served the church thirteen years. From the church a number have gone into the ministry: Roger Guptill spent a number of years in West Africa and later as a teacher in Gammon Theological School, Atlanta, Georgia. Rev. Herbert Cooper spent a life time in the New Hampshire Conference and now resides among us. Rev. Adlai Schulmaier went into the teaching field and ended up his days as president of a Methodist Seminary in Vermont. Rev Millard Webster is a minister of the Baptist Church in New Hampshire. Rev. Harold Worster is a Congregational minister and chaplain of the Concord Men's Reformatory. Miss Annie Gowell spent many years as a teacher in the Mitchell Home, Misenheimer, No. Carolina, Miss Mary Garland was Deaconess in the Capital, Washington, D. C., Miss Minnie Dawson served as a Deaconess in Portland, Maine.

Roman Catholics first worshipped in Somersworth. In 1886 the Rev. Michael F. Walsh was appointed to the newly organized parish of St. Michaels in So. Berwick. Berwick Catholics were subject to his guidance. However, many attended the churches in nearby Somersworth. In 1924 Father Fitspatrick purchased the Lord property in Berwick, which in time became the Church of Our Lady of Peace. In 1927 Father Henry Semery became the first pastor. The present pastor, who has recently moved, Father J. Wilfrid Albert, was here for twelve years, much beloved by many in the church and village. A number have gone into the service of the church.

Flora Plante became Sister Angelica and has served in many places in New Hampshire and is now Superior in Adams, Mass. Two Bouchard sisters also went into service. Marie became St. Marie Deslys and is in Manchester. Orare became Sister Marie Felix DeNaples, serving in Montreal.

People who desired a freer type of service than what is found in a more formal church met for some years around in homes. By 1935 these feelings were crystallized when someone of the members offered a house on the corner of Berwick and Allen Streets. Neighboring ministers helped the new congregation and finally Rev. Robert Wallace of the Sanford Gospel Tabernacle furnished them pastoral service. In 1939 Rev. and Mrs. L. F. Perry came from Long Island, N.Y., to lead the church. With Mr. Perry's ministry the church has expanded, housing both the church and the pastor. $6,000 was used in this expansion in 1956. The Perrys have continued to serve the church and community in a loving way.