\nThis evening the Waterville Area Council of Churches will hold an ecumenical service in the Winslow Congregational Church, the oldest meeting house in this area, to recognize religious participation in the Maine Sesquicentennial. Protestants, Catholics and Jews will participate in this service. So on this radio program today let us consider religion in Maine in early colonial days. From the earliest charters, the English monarchs were concerned about conversion of the Indians in their American possessions. King James’ charter to the Plymouth Company in 1620 stated that one purpose was “to advance the enlargement of the Christian religion by the conversion of such savages as remain in desolation and distress to civil society and religion.”<\/p>\n
It was not long before there was strife between the Puritan dissenters, who founded the settlements at Plymouth and Boston, and the Episcopalians who came into control under Mason and Gorges in the regions that later became New Hampshire and Maine. When King Charles granted Maine to Ferdinando Gorges in 1639, the charter gave Gorges “full power to erect as many churches and chapels as he should deem convenient, and to dedicate the same according to the ecclesiastical laws of England.” The king said further: “It is our will and pleasure that the religion now professed in the Church of England and the ecclesiastical government now used in that church shall be forever after professed and established throughout the province of Maine”. So in 1640 it was clearly intended that all churches set up between the Piscataqua and the Kennebec should be Episcopalian. But the influences from Plymouth and Boston proved so strong that even Gorges, himself a staunch supporter of the Church of England, permitted Puritan churches to be organized in Maine. Eighteen years later, in 1658, when Massachusetts gained control of all of Gorges’ lands, Puritanism — that is, the established, orthodox Congregational Church of Massachusetts — became supreme.<\/p>\n
Before 1673 there were very few churches in Maine, because of the small population, the persistent Indian wars, the inadequate communication, and the divided religious interests. It was the year 1673 that saw Maine’s first established church, the Congregational Society at York. The second church, that at Wells. had to wait 28 years longer, until 1701, but the very next year, 1702, saw the third Maine church set up at South Berwick. The first salaries were 50 to 60 pounds a year, but the minister did have a gift of the minister’s 200 acre lot and all it produced.<\/p>\n
A church right here in our Waterville region came near the end of the 18th century, when the town of Winslow, at taxpayers’ expense, engaged a pastor of the orthodox faith and built meeting houses on both sides of the river.<\/p>\n
In the meantime orthodox churches had sprung up all the way from the New Hampshire border to Machias along the coast and as far as Skowhegan up the Kennebec. Portland got its church in 1721, Brunswick in 1737, Gorham in 1750, New Gloucester in 1765, Blue Hill in 1772, Fryeburg in 1775. Between 1700 and 1783 churches were established along the Maine coast from Kittery to Machias, that included Kennebunk, Saco, Cape Elizabeth, Portland, Yarmouth, Harpswell, Woolwich and Deer Isle.<\/p>\n
The established orthodox church did not, however, have a monopoly on religion in the early Maine settlements. Presbyterians got a foothold at Arrowsic, Portland, Pemaquid and Waldoboro, as well as on the Kennebec at Old Canaan, the modern Skowhegan. The Presbyterian influence came largely through Scotch-Irish settlers from Ulster. Lutherans got an even stronger hold at Waldoboro and Warren than did the Presbyterians. That was because of the settlers whom General Waldo brought from Germany. Meanwhile Baptists were getting a hold from Kittery to the Kennebec. Although that denomination’s rapid growth in Maine did not come until after 1800, before that date there were some twenty Baptist churches in the Massacusetts District of Maine.<\/p>\n
As for state influence, there was no mention of religion in the earliest town incorporations, but by 1720 the town charters were beginning to have the provision that “the petitioners shall constantly support the ministry and build a meeting house within two years”. The intent was that the ministry and the meeting house should be Congregationalist, but after the Revolution the Massacusetts Constitution permitted the citizens of a new town to have a ministry of any denomination of their choice, but some sort of ministry they must have. The law mainly presumed there would be only one church in each town. The Massachusetts Constitution also gave the authority of choosing a minister to the church organization, selected by the inhabitants, not to the town meeting, where the power had previously resided.<\/p>\n
It may be said that, from the earliest settlements, there was a strong movement for religious freedom in Maine, and very early in our part of New England different religious organizations sprang up in the same town. It was true that the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 granted freedom with one hand, then took it away with the other. One article said: “No subject shall be molested or restrained from worshipping God in the manner most agreeable to the dictates of his conscience”. But another article said: “This legislature has the power to require the several towns, parishes and religious societies to make suitable provision, at their own expense, for public worship and the support of Protestant teachers of piety, religion and morality. Attendance at worship shall also be required, provided only that each town shall have the right to select its own minister and contract for his support.” Thus by Massachusetts law, a taxpayer had to support the denomination preferred by a majority of the town’s voters, whether he liked it or not.<\/p>\n
The Sunday services were well fixed as to time and order of service in colonial Maine. There was a morning service at 9 or 10 o’clock, followed by an afternoon service as soon as the people had had a chance to eat. One old account tells us: “The time between service was spent by the people in getting warm, eating the noonday meal, and the usual exchange of gossip.” In cold weather, they needed to get warm between services, because before the coming of stoves, the only heat was provided by a soapstone passed from person to person in the pew.<\/p>\n
Each service began with an opening prayer, hymns lined out by a singing master, but not accompanied by any instrument, a long passage of scripture, and a sermon timed by an hourglass.<\/p>\n
A prominent church officer was the tithingman. His job was at first to control unruly boys, who were always seated on the opposite side of the sanctuary from the girls. As time went on, it was the tithingman’s job to keep sleepy parishioners awake by tapping them on the head with his long stick. He was also a sort of truant officer, rounding up absenteees to see that they came on the next Sunday.<\/p>\n
Most of the colonial meeting houses were built in similar pattern. Usually rectangular, but sometimes square, they were seldom more than forty feet long, though Kittery had one of 50 feet. Scarborough’s was 35 by 40 feet, with 16 foot studs. Those rectangular houses often stand broadside to the road. Most of them had two stories with two rows of windows. Until 1750 few Maine churches had either steeple or bell.<\/p>\n
From the entrance a broad aisle led up to the pulpit. There were two rows of pews on each side of the center aisle, and two side aisles. Pews were usually square and boxed in, with seats on three sides, necessitating that some attendants sit with their backs toward the preacher. Seating was by social rank or according to the price of the pew, which of course was owned by the family that used it. The pulpit was raised so that the preacher looked straight into the galleries. Below the pulpit the deacons sat on the long deacon seat facing the people.<\/p>\n
Not until 1811 did Massachusetts pass its act of true religious freedom. That act decreed that the tax paid by any resident of a town should go to support a minister of his own choice, provided there was one whose services he regularly attended.<\/p>\n
Now in the few minutes we have left on this broadcast, let me turn to a subject that I have long made familiar to you. That subject is old-time advertisements. I repeat what I have often said before. Those old ads reveal better than do the news items what was going on at the time when a paper was printed.<\/p>\n
So let us look at a few Waterville ads of the year 1898, 72 years ago.<\/p>\n
H.R. Dunham, the clothier, announced that he had college sweaters always in stock, and full-dress suits to rent for festive occasions. At the livery stable of Pollard and Mitchell one could hire a carriage, hack or barge for any occasion. Passengers would be conveyed to any desired point day or night.<\/p>\n
William Harper, the druggist, wanted everyone to know that he sold toilet articles, cigars and soda. But P.P. Herbst, the German tobacconist, insisted his place was where one should come for cigars, for he himself made the celebrated KP 10 cent cigar.<\/p>\n
The W.B. Arnold ad said nothing about tools and ordinary hardware. What it did advertise were stoves and furnaces, carriage woodwork, black powder and high explosives, tinsmithing, steam and water fitting. Water fitting, of course, meant what we call plumbing. Physicians advertised in those days: “Dr. J.F. Hill, 119 Main Street. Hours 9-12, 2-5. Also 7-8 on Tuesday and Saturday. Thursday, out of town.”<\/p>\n
The year 1898 was early for cigarette ads, but the paper did have one: “Richmond and Straight Cut No.1 Cigarettes. American Tobacco Co., Richmond, Va.”<\/p>\n
W.W. Berry announced that he was in his new store at 57 Main Street, where customers would find a complete line of stationery and school supplies, periodicals and magazines, tennis balls and baseballs. He also made picture framing a specialty. Robinson the tailor declared that college students would receive a special discount.<\/p>\n
The Waterville Steam Dye House not only cleaned and pressed clothes. They also recolored sleigh backs and cushions, and would supply you with their locally made carriage mats and dusters.<\/p>\n
The Bay View House boasted its steam heat, its electric lights and electric bells. And of course no Waterville list of ads of 1898 would be complete without<\/p>\n
Hagers: “Cool soda with pure syrup made from fine juices. Ice cream made from Patterson Bros. pure cream, acknowledged to be the best in Waterville.”<\/p>\n
Year: 1970<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Read the script for “Little Talks” program #844, Broadcast on March 15, 1970<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":405,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1205,35296],"tags":[],"builder_content":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9018"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/405"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9018\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}