As part of my Select Board office hours this morning I met with Geoff Sauter, the President of the Friends of the Dwight-Derby House, Inc. Geoff shared with me the drawing below that Geoff said George Horatio Derby drew when a youth from his bedroom window in the Dwight-Derby House.
What becomes clear as one looks at the drawing is that the First Parish Meeting House building was then facing North Street. At some point the building was rotated 90 degrees to its current orientation – I wonder why? Other changes I noted were the different steeple, the bump out behind the alter that is no longer exists, and no town clock. I heard that the church’s steeple blew down in the 1938 Hurricane and was reconstructed.
I like seeing the model sailboat on the pond, as it reminds me that I sailed model boats in large fountains or artificial ponds in parks in London as a kid.
Medfield02052's Blog 
What a wonderful drawing of First Parish Medfield — I have never seen that one before. Thank you very much for sharing this. On the FPUU website there is a chronicle of the church buildings since the beginning in 1651 https://www.firstparishmedfield.org/our-history/history-of-the-meeting-house/ As for the raising and turning of the building, there is this entry: “1839 The building was extensively remodeled. The building was elevated and turned 90 degrees to face Hartford Road (Main Street). A vestry was constructed at ground level under the sanctuary, a spire, colonnade and portico and rose window were added. New pews were installed. The wainscoting in the vestry was made from the old pew enclosures.”
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Pete – I have never seen this sketch before. Thanks for sending it. Our current building dates from 1789, a momentous year in U.S. and French history. In 1839, the 50th anniversary of the church (and the country as we know it), the church had major renovations. I’ve attached a short chronology of the church. In your reply, please include my original message.
David F. Temple Past President, Medfield Historical Society https://medfieldhistoricalsociety.org/ Co-Chair, Medfield Historical Commission300 South Street Medfield, MA 02052 H-508-359-2915 M-508-613-6606
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