{"nrhp_refnum":"78001404","name":"First Parish Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SW of Duxbury at Tremont and Depot Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Duxbury","county":"Plymouth County","state":"MA","lat":42.03497293500004,"lon":-70.69200247499998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-07-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A church building on Tremont Street at Depot Street in Duxbury, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, built in 1840 of native Duxbury pine. It is the fourth meetinghouse of its congregation and the third on this site.","why_significant":"The nomination cites its architecture and its role in Duxbury's history. The congregation dates to 1632 and was gathered by Elder William Brewster. The refined design, grand size and finish reflect the height of Duxbury's seafaring wealth.","narrative":"Set back from Tremont Street on a small rise in Duxbury, this church was built in 1840 of native Duxbury pine and designed to seat one thousand. It is the congregation's fourth meetinghouse and the third on the site. The rectangular building measures 86 feet deep and 66 feet wide, with a 127-foot steeple rising in three stages from the roof ridge. The five-bay east facade has wide pilasters, three entrances, and an oculus in the gable. Inside, the large room has no supporting columns and holds white wainscotted box pews with mahogany rails. A parish house was attached on the north in 1958. The congregation was organized in 1632 and gathered by Elder William Brewster, marking the settlement's permanence. The bell tower holds the 1819 town bell, made by George Handel Holbrook, a former Revere apprentice. The congregation became Unitarian and merged with the Universalist Church in 1961. The building was listed for its architecture and its role in local history.","period_of_significance":"1840","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied; owned by a private religious congregation. An ell-shaped parish house was added on the north in 1958.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.898465-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/34/7966/63796634/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/78001404.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001404/96384c260f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001404/96384c260f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Kenneth C. Zirkel","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Parish_Unitarian_Church,_Duxbury,_Massachusetts.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Kenneth C. Zirkel</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Parish_Unitarian_Church,_Duxbury,_Massachusetts.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100006129","name":"Old Town Hall Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/old-town-hall-historic-district-100006129/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796634","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Parish_Church_(Duxbury,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5453479"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/plymouth-county/first-parish-church-78001404/"}