Massachusetts is Home to the Oldest Town Hall Meeting in America
Massachusetts is old. That’s nothing new. We all know it. Massachusetts is rich with history. We have awesome old buildings everywhere. Many of those old buildings are very notable, like the oldest town hall in continuous use for town meetings in the nation, which is also home to the oldest town hall meeting in America. So, where is this town hall located? If you said Pelham, Massachusetts – ding, ding, ding!
Not to be confused with Pelham, New Hampshire, Pelham, Massachusetts is just under 80 miles away or about an hour and a half drive, just East of Amherst. The very first town meeting in America was held in Dorchester, Mass way back in 1633 however Pelham Town Hall has housed the longest running town meeting in the US. The hall was built in 1743 and has been home to Pelham town meetings almost ever since.
The meetings used to be held upstairs at the town hall but they were moved downstairs to accommodate all townspeople. The tradition has been going strong for 276 years! The next annual town meeting will be held on May 11, 2024. However, it appears that the big annual town meeting has in fact moved to Pelham Elementary School at 45 Amherst Road. According to the town’s website: “Annual Town Meeting is held on the second Saturday in May beginning at 9:00am at the Pelham Elementary School at 45 Amherst Road. Fall Special Town meeting is generally held the second/third Saturday in October in the Old Town Hall at 376 Amherst Road.” Over 275 years of tradition still going strong with those Fall Special Town meetings. I love the history in Mass!
Let’s move it from historical town halls to historical homes. We have plenty of really old homes in Massachusetts too. In fact, let’s rank ’em! Here are the 5 Massachusetts Towns with the Most Historical Homes:
5 Massachusetts Towns with the Most Historical Homes
