St. John's Methodist Church

St. John's Methodist Church, now St. John's Senior Housing, was built in 1875 for $40,000. Methodism, the third oldest religious denomination in Dover after the Congregationalists and the Quakers, began worship services there in 1819 at the old court house on Tuttle Square. The congregation grew quickly, and in 1825 a small two-story wooden church was built on land donated by the Waldron family, many of whom are buried in the family cemetery at the back of the property. By mid-century, a parsonage, a vestry, and two chapel wings had been added as Methodism gained broad popularity among workingmen and women employed in the nearby Cocheco mills. The small church was razed and replaced by a large brick edifice that seated 1,000 parishioners and housed new chimes weighing 8,000 pounds in its bell tower. The church remained in use until 1970, when a new St. John's United Methodist Church opened on Cataract Avenue, and in 1982 the building was converted into apartments for the elderly under the ownership and management of the Dover Housing Authority.

Dover, New Hampshire · United States