History

A summary of the history of
Second Christian Congregational Church
United Church of Christ

     Our church was originally called, “The Meeting House”, and was erected in 1843 in downtown Kittery, Maine.  The church was remodeled in 1893 in preparation for the Golden Jubilee.  On Sunday, February 16, 1896, a tragic fire broke out and destroyed most of the church – only the organ and the bell were saved.  In slightly more than three months, May 25, 1896, the cornerstone for a new building was laid and work on the new church had begun.  In less than a year, the new church was completed and the building as we see it today, was dedicated on December 10, 1896.  In 1910, electricity was installed and in 1912, the old coal-burning stove was replaced by a modern steam heating plant which is still in service today.  In 1953 the church was damaged by two successive hurricanes and was quickly repaired.

     A new electric organ was purchased in 1957 and was used until 1993 when it was replaced with the current organ, purchased in memory of Mildred Gerry, our devoted organist for over 30 years.  In the 50’s the Sunday School attendance was so great that in late 1959 through early 1960, a large addition was built onto the rear of the church to accommodate all of the classes.  In March of 1984 a property on Jones Avenue was purchased by the church and the house was torn down in order to provide parking for church members and to provide a supplemental income for the church by renting parking spaces to shipyard workers. Since then many improvements have been completed, the final and most extensive one being the installation of a modern elevator. 

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