"April 19:1797 Order Settled with the treasurer"
Such in substance was the controversy about the location of the meeting-house. The contest was characterized by zeal, obstinacy, and bitterness, manifested equally by both factions, and so fierce was the strife that the people of adjoining towns, for miles around, were in the habit of flocking into Fitchburg to attend town meetings.
The edifice was dedicated Jan. 19, 1797, Rev. Zabdiel Adams of Lunenburg preaching the sermon. This house became, a few years later, the church of the First Parish (Unitarian) in Fitchburg, and stood until 1836, when it was removed, and a brick church, now standing, was built by the Unitarians on nearly the same site.
FOOTNOTES:
[B] Torrey's "History of Fitchburg," Fitchburg, 1836.
ABBOT ACADEMY.[C]
BY ANNIE SAWYER DOWNS.
