HISTORIC HARRISVILLE INC.

Vestry, 1840

Bethuel Harris built the vestry as a chapel for religious meetings in the evening, since Harrisville Congregationalists at that time attended Sunday services in Nelson. It served only two years in that capacity, until a congregation was organized in Harrisville and the brick church was built across the street. Thereafter, the vestry was used as a village school. Sitting as it does on a foundation directly over the water of Harrisville Pond, it was cruelly cold in winter and hardly conducive to learning. The brick building, perfectly attuned to its surroundings, has dressed granite lintels and sills, wooden cornice moldings, six-over-six window sash, and a modest and simple bell tower. It has, since 1970, housed the Harrisville Public Library. Owned by the Town of Harrisville.