Congregational Library
Encyclopedia
The Congregational Library is located in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

's historic Beacon Hill and was founded in 1853 with the gift of 56 books from its owners' personal collections. The Congregational Library now holds 225,000 items documenting the history of one of the nation's oldest and most influential religious traditions and offers researchers, readers, and browsers an extensive array of contemporary and classic religious material. Its collection includes a wide variety of resources on American religion, New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

 local and town histories, and 300 years of records documenting the history of American Congregationalism. Its reading room, overlooking Boston's famous Granary Burying Ground
Granary Burying Ground
Founded in 1660, the Granary Burying Ground in Massachusetts is the city of Boston's third-oldest cemetery. Located on Tremont Street, it is the final resting place for many notable Revolutionary War-era patriots, including three signers of the Declaration of Independence, Paul Revere and the five...

, is open to visitors from Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

History of the library

The Congregational Library and Archives are administered by the American Congregational Association (ACA), founded May 25, 1853. The 1853 ACA charter stated that the organization was incorporated "for the purpose of establishing and perpetuating a library of religious history and literature of New England, and for the erection of a suitable building for the accommodation of the same, and for the use of charitable societies." It was felt that the latter should be done or the original Puritan literature would be lost.

In 1853 rooms were rented for the first small library. In 1873 two buildings were acquired at the corner of Beacon and Somerset streets, near the present location. The buildings were remodeled and dedicated on February 11, 1873. This building was sold when a larger, more adequate building became a necessity. The American Congregational Association discussed a new location as early as 1890 and a committee was appointed in 1896 to investigate building lots. The ACA desired to fulfill the purpose stated in their charter, to house their large library and objects documenting the Congregational movement, as well as house Congregational organizations and charities. The present Congregational House was completed in 1898 and was designed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge
Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge
Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge was a successful architecture firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, operating between 1886 and 1915, with extensive commissions in monumental civic and collegiate architecture in the spirit and style of Henry Hobson Richardson....

 (now Shepley Bulfinch
Shepley Bulfinch
Shepley Bulfinch is an international architecture, planning, and interior design firm with offices in Boston and Phoenix...

).

A host of Congregational organizations have had their offices in the Congregational House. 1898 tenants included the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, American Missionary Association, Boston Society for the Moral and Religious Instruction of the Poor (now City Mission Society), Congregational Education Society, The Congregationalist, Congregational Library, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 Home Missionary Society, National Council of Congregational Churches, New West Commission, Pilgrim Press Bookstore, Seaman's Friend Society, Sunday School and Publishing Society, Thomas Todd Printers and Massachusetts Woman's Home Missionary Union. The Board of Pastoral Supply and the Massachusetts Conference of Congregational Christian Churches (which absorbed the Massachusetts Home Missionary Society) came at a later date.

Other developments give some background to the records that can be found in the Congregational Library archives. In the 1957 the United Church of Christ
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition but also historically influenced by Lutheranism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC...

 was founded and the Congregational Christians and the Evangelical Reformed churches merged. This led to the formation of the Congregational Christian Historical Society, a committee of the General Council of the Congregational Christian churches. The mission of the Congregational Christian Historical Society is to preserve the Congregational heritage.

After 1957 many Congregational churches joined the United Church of Christ and the library was designated as the records repository for the General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches, the central denominational board of the Congregational church. In addition to these records, numerous associations, organizations and movements from the Congregational tradition have given their records to Congregational Library archives.

While the goals of the Congregational Library remain true to its original mission, the dawn of the 21st century has seen some changes in the way those goals have and will be met.

Scope and size

This repository is independent from any specific church or denomination. It operates under the auspices of the American Congregational Association, which is a non-profit organization with independent means. The archives collects material that documents the Congregational, Congregational Christian, Christian and United Church of Christ tradition throughout the world. There are approximately 900 separate archival and manuscript collections totaling over 1200 feet (365.8 m).

Topics

The collection is extremely rich in New England history, due to the early influence of Congregationalism in the region. Other collection strengths include New England local church records, American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions records, missionary and charitable associations records, and manuscript sermons from the 17th to the 20th century. There are a number of collections — independent and intermingled among church records — that would be of interest to women's studies scholars, including collections documenting women's missionary associations and women's charitable organizations.

Unlike other repositories, researchers may find that there is a fluidity between "Library" and "Archive." The library contains a wealth of materials that complement the archives and manuscript collection, and vice-versa. Printed and published materials in the library provide town histories, documentation of church architecture, theological works and hymnals. The rare book collection contains a large number of antiquarian Bibles and printed works documenting early Congregational history, from the 17th century on. There is also a large collection of mid- to late-19th century periodicals, many published by missionary societies, particularly women's missionary societies.

Together the library and archives are particularly useful for documenting four periods of Congregational history:
  • early Congregational history
  • the Evangelical revival in early 19th-century Massachusetts
  • the foundation of the United Church of Christ
  • the other denominations that contribute to Congregational history: National Association of Congregational Christian Churches
    National Association of Congregational Christian Churches
    The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches is an association of about 400 churches providing fellowship for and services to churches from the Congregational tradition. The Association maintains its national office in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee...

    , the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference
    Conservative Congregational Christian Conference
    The Conservative Congregational Christian Conference, colloquially known as the CCCC or 4C's, is a Protestant Christian denomination operating in the United States. The denomination maintains headquarters in Lake Elmo, Minnesota, a suburb of St. Paul...

    , and the Evangelical and Reformed Church
    Evangelical and Reformed Church
    The Evangelical and Reformed Church was a Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. It was formed in 1934 by the merger of the Reformed Church in the United States with the Evangelical Synod of North America . After the 1934 merger, a minority within the RCUS seceded in order to...

    .

External links

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