By Muriel Bristol | April 20, 2025
Milton’s inaugural Town Meeting was held at the dwelling house of Lt. Elijah Horn, innholder, on August 30, 1802.
The first regular annual Town Meeting was held at the dwelling house of Gilman Jewett, innholder, March 14, 1803. Among other decisions, it appointed a committee to select a central location on which to build a Town Meeting House.
The Report of the Comittee appointed to fix the Center of the Town. We the under Signers a Comittee appointed at the Annual Meeting in March Last to Calculate the travel of each individual in order to find the most Central place to fix the Center & report the place that will in our opinion be most Suitable to build a House to hold Public Meetings in & best Comode the Town at Large do Report that we have attended Said Business but could not agree upon the place but agreed to take the Opinion of Major Joshua Allin, Daniel Wingate, Esq., & W. Luther Dearborn who Reported that it was their opinion that the most Suitable place to commode the Town & to build upon was at the Head of the upper pond on Wakefield road on the top of the first Hill, which we agree to. Milton, May 30th 1803. Willm Palmer, Beard Plumer, Daniel Hayes, Jur, John Remick, Jur, Timo Roberts, John Fish } Committee. A True Copy of Record. Gilman Jewett, T. Clerk.
A Town Meeting of May 30, 1803, voted 1st) to accept the above report on siting the proposed meeting house, 2) against dismissing a meeting notification clause, 3) to build a Meeting House of dimensions 52′ long by 42′ wide, 4) that a building committee of three be chosen to build the Meeting House in a manner they might think proper, 5) that John Fish, Gilman Jewett, and Beard Plumer, be that building committee, 6) that the building committee contract the project out to the lowest bidder(s), 7) that the building committee be authorized to auction pews to the highest bidders, 8) that timber for the Meeting House be cut on the School Lot, and 9) that any money needed for the Meeting House construction, above that raised through sale of pews, be taken from the Rochester settlement money.
The auction of pews, as well as for contracting the construction of the Meeting House, took place on July 4, 1803.
Article 1st. The Meeting House to be built of the following Dimentions, Viz. 52 ft. long and 42 ft. wide, timber to be the following dimentions well Squared & pretty free of Sap & Sound, parts to be 23 ft. high, 14 inches by 10 inches at the head, 6 Beams 12 by 13 inches & Crowning 10 inches at the most, 8 Sills 12 by 10 inches, 2 plates 10 by 8 inches, 2 rows hung posts double Spar’d with Good white oak, Braces under each Beam with Covering Joist with Studs, Braces, Girts & Slipers as is usual in Such frames & under pin the Same with as Good Rocks as can be got within one mile of places where Set to be 18 inches from Ground and a porch at each end Eleven ft. Square & of such an higth [height] as will be convenient to go into the Gallery. [T]o be Raised at the expense of the Contactor and Sett on the first hill at the head of the Norwest pond in Milton on Wakefield Road (unless the Town Should Vote to alter the place but not to exceed 100 Rods), all the above work to be done & Compleated by the Last day of Sept. Next.
2 Article. To board, Clapboard & Shingle Said House & Porches & build Portico with Good pine boards, Shingles & Clapboards, all well Seasoned, put in the window fraims [frames], make and hang the Doors & Glaze Said house with 10 x 8 Glass to Contain 46 Windows with 28 Squares in each, Door & c. to be made of Good Clean boards well Seasoned to be Compleated by the first day of June next. Boarding & Shingling Said house to be done by the first day of December next.
3rd article. To let out the whole inside work, Viz. – to build 61 pews agreeable to the plan anexed, to build a Pulpit, Lath & plaster Said House, build Stairs, Seats, put Pillows under the Gallerys, finally to Compleat the whole of the inside work not enumerated in the above, all to be done with Good Seasoned Timber & Boards, to lay all the floors & c., to be Compleated by the last day of October 1804, every article of the above work to be done in a Good Substantial workmanlike manner to the acceptance of the Committee.
4th Article. The lowest Bidder to be the Purchaser and none to bid less than one dollar per bid and to give Sufficient Security for the faithful performance of Said Contract & in Case of non Compliance to pay ten dollars forfeit to Said Committee.
5th article. If any dispute arise Respecting a bid to be referred to & adjudged by the company present.
6th article. The timber to be Cut on the School Lott and The Money paid to the purchase[r], one half to be paid when one half the work is done, the other half to be paid when the whole of the work is done. Milton, July 4th 1803. John Fish, Gilman Jewett, Beard Plumer } Committee. A true Coppy of Record. Gilman Jewett, Town Clerk.
Caleb Wingate submitted the winning bid of $398 for the work specified in Article One of the Meeting House project. Gilman Jewett submitted the winning bid of $680 for the Article Two work, and Capt. Daniel Hayes submitted the winning bid of $940 for the Article Three work. The whole was contracted for $2,018.
But then “a number of respectable inhabitants & freeholders” sought a special Town Meeting to reconsider the proposed Meeting House site. They were Clement Hayes, Richard Manson, Daniel Manson, Samuel Bragdon, Saml Jones, Jona Pinkham, Richard Walker, Elias Ricker, John Wentworth, Joseph Walker, Willm Jones, John Downs, Ebenezer Jones, Wentworth Cook, Jotham Ham, Elisha Furbish, Will W. Lord, Saml Twombly, Jr., Ebenr Twombly, Lemuel Ricker, Jerediah Ricker, Isaac Worster, David Wentworth, Wentworth Door, Saml Twombly, Willm Hatch, and Stephen Wentworth. They thought that the site should be instead ninety or a hundred rods lower down, on the south side of the brook at the head of the Northwest Pond. The special Town Meeting was held at the home of Lieut. Elijah Horn, September 1, 1803, and that meeting decided not to change the proposed Meeting House site.
A Town Meeting was held at the house of Gilman Jewett, innholder, May 7, 1804. The Article One framing contractor, Caleb Wingate, had requested that the Town “allow him a reasonable compensation for his faithful & Extra Services in Erecting the Meeting House.” His request was “dismissed” by the assembled Town Meeting.
The State transcription of these early Milton town records has the annexed plan of the original pews in the Milton Town House. It consists of two drawings or floor plans, one of the main ground floor and the other of a second floor, which was a balcony or gallery above the main ground floor, rather than a full second floor.
The top drawing is captioned “A Plan of Meeting House 36 pews below.”
On the ground floor drawing or plan itself the 36 numbered pews are shown, labeled with their owners’ names and the price they paid. The sequence begins on the southerly to the right of the front door, runs up the easterly side, across the northerly side, down the westerly side, and back to the front door. No. 1, Isaac Worster, $55; No. 2, W. Palmer, 46 Doll.; No. 3, Jno Downs, 45 Doll.; No. 4, D. Door, 31.25 Cts.; No. 5, John & David Wentworth, $28; No. 6, Caleb Wingate, 30: Doll.; No. 7, Wm Lord, 30 doll.; No. 8, P. Hantsom, 31 doll.; No. 9, W. Jones, 30.25 cts.; No. 10., Saml S. Wentworth, 31.50; No. 11, S. Jones, 53 doll.; No. 12, L. Jones, 32.75; Pulpit, DEACON SEAT; No. 13, Parsonage pew; No. 14, Beard Plumer, 50 dol.; No. 15, Wm Palmer, 29.50; No. 16, T. Roberts, 27 doll.; No. 17, J. Scates, 30 doll.; No. 18, Jeh Ricker, 28.25; No. 19, D. Burnham, 31 Doll.; No. 20, C. Hays, 30.25; No. 21, Jas Hayes, 30 doll.; No. 22, B. Scats, 44 Doll.; No. 23, D. Corson, 45.25; and No. 24, Robert McGeoch, $55.
A group of six pews are grouped on the floor on the east side of the main aisle, which was 5½ feet wide, and six pews are grouped on the west side of the main aisle. No. 25, Jothm Nute, 64 doll.; No. 26, Capt. D. Hayes, 43 doll.; No. 27, E. Horn, 48 doll.; No. 28, R. Walker, 53 dolls.; No. 29, J. Plumer, 100; No. 30, G. Jewett, 88 Dol.; No. 31, B. Plumer, 51 doll.; No. 32, Richd Horn, 54.50 C.; No. 33, Ez. Hays, 41 Doll.; No. 34, B. Scates, 65 doll.; No. 35, J. Fish, 78; and No. 36, N. Jewett, 81 Doll.
Below the main ground floor plan is a second plan captioned “A plan of the Galery Pews in Said House.” A set of stairs does appear on the ground floor plan, but they seem to be associated only with the raised pulpit, rather than the gallery above. However, the Article One building contract included an eleven square-foot “porch” at each end of the building, of such a height that they would be “convenient to go into the Gallery” above.
The gallery or balcony plan is mirrored or upside down relative to the ground floor plan. That is to say, the Pulpit, which appears at the top or north side of the ground floor plan appears instead at the bottom of the gallery or balcony plan.
On the Gallery drawing or plan itself 26 numbered pews are shown, labeled with their owners’ names and the price they paid. No. 1, J. Door, 22 dol.; No. 2, J. Willy, 13 dol.; No. 3, E. Drew, 11 dol.; No. 4, S. Palmer, 12.25; No. 5, D. Monson, 12.25; No. 6, G. Gerrish, 10.50; No. 7, J. Walker, 10.75; No. 8 <blank>; No. 9, Jas Varney, Jr., 17.25; No. 10, Stephn Wentworth, 16.25; No. 11, Capt. N. Jones, 17 dol.; No. 12, Capt. D. Hayes, 16.75; No. 13, Capt. D. Hayes, 17 doll.; No. 14, Capt. D. Hayes, 19.25; No. 15, D. Hanson, 16.75; No. 16, J. Door, 16.50; No. 17, Capt. N. Jones, 18 doll.; No. 18 <blank>; No. 19 <blank>; No. 20 <blank>; No. 21, E. Plumer; No. 22 <blank>; No. 23, James C. Hayes, 12 Dols. 50 Cents; No. 24, Saml Nash, 12 doll.; No. 25, Benja Corson, $20.50; and No. 26, Singing Seats, Ly.
The pew auction sale prices cited on the two plans sum to $1,902. (Six gallery pews were not yet sold). It would have been necessary to allocate an additional $206 from the Rochester settlement money, or to sell more pews, in order to satisfy the three building contracts, whose sum was $2,108.
The first Town Meeting to be held in the newly constructed Meeting House took place on August 27, 1804. (The internal Gallery no longer exists).
The Milton Congregational Society petitioned for a charter in 1814, which they received in the following year. (See Milton Congregational Society Petition – 1814). The Congregationalists continued to meet and worship in the Milton Town House, from 1804 until they moved to their own church building in 1835.
This church worshiped in the old meeting house until 1835, when the house was built at Three Ponds, which has since been transformed into a “Classical Institute.” After this time for several years the meetings were held alternately at the Three Ponds and Milton Mills. The present meeting-house of this church was built in 1860, and is a spacious and elegant edifice (Hayes, 1882; Scales, 1914).
References:
Find a Grave. (2005, March 1). Col. Joshua Allen. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/10543195/joshua-allen
Find a Grave. (2012, June 19). Luther Dearborn. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/92171689/luther-dearborn
Find a Grave. (2011, September 28). Daniel Wingate. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/77248301/david-wingate
Scales, John. (1914). History of Strafford County, New Hampshire and Representative Citizens. Retrieved from books.google.com/books?id=nGsjAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA513
Milton Observer 