A brief history of Bethany Congregational Church

1832: The Evangelical Society of Quincy

The church first gathered in 1832 as the Evangelical Society of Quincy, with 21 charter members. In 1896 it changed its name to Bethany Congregational Church. The church continued to grow, and in 1961 Bethany became a member of a new denomination, the United Church of Christ. Bethany has since left the United Church of Christ and is now a member of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (NACCC), a fellowship of self-governing Congregational churches.

In the past century, thirteen of Bethany's young men have been ordained as ministers in the Christian faith, and Bethany has had fifteen settled ministers of its own since its founding.

Three homes in Quincy

Bethany has had three locations in Quincy. The first church stood at the corner of Hancock Street and Revere Road. The second was at the corner of Hancock and Chestnut Streets, where the South Shore Bank now stands.

The present cathedral-like church, in the English Gothic style, was built of solid Quincy granite at the corner of Coddington and Spear Streets in 1927. The following year the soaring 120 foot tower, with its imposing gargoyles, was completed. It has remained a beacon on Quincy's skyline ever since.

Strictly speaking, the carved figures on the tower are grotesques, not gargoyles, because they do not work as rain spouts.

National Register of Historic Places

In 1989 the church was placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior. Today the church is working with the City of Quincy to conserve and archive its large collection of church records and artifacts.