It Happens Here: Oldest church in continuous use in America is in Hingham
HINGHAM - Did you know the oldest church in continuous use in America is in Hingham?
The Old Ship Church has been on Main Street since 1681 and is the only remaining 17th century Puritan meeting house in the country.
And almost all of it is still original, including the remarkable king post architecture.
"With this king post you're able to have this wide span without having posts go all the way to the ground," parishioner Nina Welford told WBZ-TV.
Welford has been a parishioner here since the 1980s. Her friend Fan Leonard has been here since 1954! She's now a deacon.
"They pick the oldest people to be deacons, so most of them have no memory left," Leonard said with a laugh.
Here's why she's spent almost 70 years coming to this church.
"A wonderful feeling of stability and welcome," Leonard said.
"When I walked in, it was like 'Oh, yeah, this is amazing,'" said Welford.
In addition to Fan and Nina, many notable parishioners have worshipped here, including major figures in the American Revolution.
"Benjamin Lincoln's pew is down here. He was up front of course because he was important," Welford told WBZ.
That's Major General Benjamin Lincoln, the man who accepted British general Charles Cornwallis' sword at the siege of Yorktown.
"But also after Washington became president, he was Washington's Secretary of War, for the first term of President Washington, so he was a big deal," Welford told WBZ.
In modern times, the parishioners of what is now a Unitarian-Universalist Church feel a sense of obligation to Old Ship's legacy of activism. Churchgoers have protested against the Vietnam War and for civil rights.
"So what we have in common is a feeling of wanting to make ourselves and the world better," Leonard said.
"Active advocacy for peace, for civil rights, for LGBTQ rights, for the environment is a big deal," Welford said.
"If we all followed what we advertised, we'd be wonderful," Leonard said laughing.
For more information, visit the church's website.
