The First Congregational Church of Wiscasset was founded 250 years ago on Aug. 6, 1773. As part of the 250th celebration, the church is offering weekly historical snippets about the church and its early years. The 250th celebration will culminate in a weekend of events including an organ concert by Joel Pierce at 2 p.m., on Saturday, Sept. 9 followed by a tea, and a celebration Sunday church service at 10 a.m. on Sept. 10 followed by a reception.

Visitors are welcome at all weekend events. Please visit this historic church any Sunday, at 28 High St., Wiscasset. For more information, phone the church office at 882-7544.  

We hope you enjoy the following historical article.   

The Paul Revere Bell 

In 1792, the Parish voted to sell seats on the lower floor of the meeting house, and to use the funds raised to build a steeple and purchase a bell. The exact date of the bell’s installation is not listed, but it was consecrated on Aug. 3, 1800.   

The bell was cast in the foundry of Paul Revere, and its original number was 39. When the parish decided in 1839 to tear down the first church building (partly because it was too difficult to heat), the bell was so prized that it was transferred to the second building, where it played its part in the village life until the church was destroyed by fire in 1907.   

Fanny Chase, in her history of Wiscasset, writes “When the second edifice burned in 1907, the treasured Paul Revere bell, like its maker, sounded the alarm but this time it rang its own funeral knell.” Forty pounds of metal from the bell were salvaged, and incorporated in the present, or Meneely bell, which was installed in the third church, and dedicated on Aug. 3, 1923. 

For over a century, the bell was rung four times each day: at 7 a.m., at noon, at 6 p.m. and again at 9 p.m. for curfew. This practice was continued until the Methodist Church installed a town clock and bell. The bell was also used to sound the fire alarm, warning the town of escaped prisoners, for weddings and funerals, and to welcome ships which arrived long overdue.   

When the annual muster was held on the training field, which is now the common, the bell assembled the home guard. It also played a role on five “imposing holidays,” which were Fast Day, Fourth, Lection, Thanks, and Christmas. The bell tolled for the funerals of every President, from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge, except for Theodore Roosevelt, when there was no bell in the belfry. And of course, the bell has always been used to summon the faithful to worship.