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Fremont Meeting House
1800
The raising of the Freemont Meeting House took place on May 28, 1800. The structure was built on a 1/2 acre piece of land donated to the town by Sherburne sleeper. funding for the building was raised through subscription, the auctioning off of boxed pews, and by tax monies raised by the Town of Poplin, now Fremont.
As the only" Poplin on earth," this unique town name was changed for unknown reasons to Fremont on July 8, 1854 in honor of John Charles Fremont - the great American West Pathfinder during the 1840s and 1850s. John C. Fremont later became the first Republican presidential candidate in 1856. though he lost the election, he did pave the way for Abraham Lincoln to become the first successful Republican candidate to win the presidency four years later in 1860.
The 1800 Meeting House was admitted onto the National Register of Historic Landmarks in 1993, and is also honored with one of five NH State Historic Markers erected within the town.
The Fremont Meeting House is one of only two 18th century twin- porch meeting houses still in existence within the United States. The other is located at Rockingham, Vermont and was built in 1787. The purpose of the twin porches were to contain the stairwell to the second floor, thus conserving valuable "auctioned off" pew space in the main assembly room. The money raised from auctioning off the box pews helped to defray the cost of construction.
This is also the only known 18th century meeting house in New Hampshire that allowed licensed tavern keepers to sell spirituous liquors from the two twin porches on Militia Muster days. the local militia would hold military drills twice a year usually in front of the meeting house. These Muster days would some times attract upwards of a thousand or more spectators, thus providing local vendors with the opportunity to sell their homemade or homegrown goods. Of course, spirituous liquors were then a very important part of muster Day - hence the reason for licensed tavern keepers. The reason tavern keepers were allowed to sell from the twin porches was because the Fremont meeting house had been officially designated a "Town House" in 1800 - thereby authorizing the building to be used for both town and religious purposes.
This historic structure contains one of the best intact choir stalls of any 18th century meeting house still standing in New Hampshire. It also contains numerous square box pews with spindled railings on both floors. Slip pews (for those who could not afford box pews) a slave pew, a circa 1870 pump organ, and an impressive 12 foot high pulpit complete with Deacon's box, also adorns this impressive old landmark.
Fremont town meetings were held in the Meeting House from 1801 until 1911 when anew town hall was constructed in the Black rocks village section of town located west of the Meeting house. The historic 1911 Fremont town hall is one of only two known metal sided town halls built in new England. It is the only structure of its type in New Hampshire the other being in Shoreham, Vermont.
Two wood stoves were installed in the Meeting House in 1840. These stoves were removed sometime during the 1920s. The building was painted presumably for the first time in 1841. Architectural changes were also made to the building in 1834 and 1841. It saw during this time that the central doorway, and most of the Federal style window frames, were altered to reflect the increasingly popular Greek-revival architectural style that was sweeping much of New England and New York State during this period. The sounding board that originally projected over the high pulpit was removed previous to 1860.
Significant exterior and interior alterations took place in 1888 when the pulpit window was removed along with all the square box pews in the middle of the auditorium. Pew doors were removed from the first floor pews and stored in one of the twin porches, wooden spindles were removed from the box railings and capped over. Alterations were also made to the deacons box in front of the pulpit.
Between 1884 and 1953, a large 38 - star American flag hung behind the pulpit. It is not known what happened to the flag after the 1950s. The flag a relic of the 1884 Grover Cleveland/ James G. Blaine presidential campaigns, represented the 38 states that made up the Union in 1884.
Next to the Meeting House stands an old Hearse House built in 1849. It was moved to be beside the Meeting House in 1876 from its location on the left side of the village cemetery across the street. It contains a horse drawn Town Hearse used for conveying the dead to their graves. The town still owns this circa 1860 horse drawn Hearse purchased second hand in 1886. This Hearse made national headlines when it was last used to pull a town resident to his grave in 1961.
A horse shed was built sometime shortly after the construction of the Meeting House. It stood on the east side of the Meeting house property and was in existence as late as 1878. When it was taken down is not Known.
In 1802 the Town of Poplin constructed a stone enclosed rectangular Town Pound just a few feet west of the meeting house where the stately tall Elm tree still stands. The pound was used to hold stray cattle, horses and swine. Once the animal(s) was claimed, the owner had to pay a fine to the town pound keeper. This town pound was dismantled in 1819 to make way for another pound that was built on the southeast corner of Sandown and Abbott roads. The existing Elm tree is one of a very few trees still standing in Fremont or in the area. The Dutch Elm disease over the last 40 years has nearly wiped out this, the most popular of American shade trees. Like countless other American towns, huge stately elms once lined Main street in Fremont" Black Rocks Village, more commonly known as "The Rocks Village".
Itinerant Methodist, free-will Baptist, Congregationalist, Universalistic and Baptist ministers frequently used the Fremont meeting House to conduct religious services prior to the Civil war. In 1842 the Rockingham Universalisms association held a two day meeting at the meeting house featuring some of the most influential ministers of that denomination. It was estimated that over 1000 people attended on the second day.
In addition to well known ministers, several U.S. Senators and congressman have spoken from the Fremont meeting House pulpit, as has the famous temperance worker and women's rights activist Mary A. Livermore in 1887 and 1895.
In 1992 and 1993, the Fremont Historical Society and the Town of Fremont sponsored the restoration of the 1800 Meeting House. Over $22,000 was raised to restore various portions of the building. The restoration project included restoring the central front doors, re-attaching the original first floor pew doors, restoring wooden seats, spindles and railings, restoration of the pulpit window, repair of the choir stall, replastering , and repainting the building inside and out. The Meeting house was officially rededicated on September 12, 1993 before a crowd of 200 spectators.
Today, the Fremont Meeting House stand as a both an inspiration of the pride Fremonters hold towards their community and its proud heritage. Long may this building stand as a noble monument honoring Fremont's earliest pioneers, and those that followed, in hopes that future generations may learn of our town's illustrious past.
Matthew E. Thomas, Town Historian