While this is the fifth structure to serve as the First Parish Church in Wakefield, Mass., the 1644 date on the building’s facade are a nod to the roots of this congregation, which traces back to the first settlers of the area (formerly called Redding).

The first meetinghouse was located around the junction of Main and Albion Streets and the first graveyard for the town of Redding was actually on the Common, adjacent to and probably under the town’s iconic Bandstand.  Many different parts of the church were moved or replaced over time; the most recent version that you see today was completed in 1912.

The “Old Burying Ground” was established in 1689 after the community built a new meetinghouse at the approximate location of today’s Congregational Church.