Readfield History Walk # 9 ~ Jesse Lee Church and East Readfield Cemetery

Eileen Gilman Lord from Vienna
placing an American flag on the
grave of her 4thg-grandfather,
Nathanial Whittier. Whittier deeded land
for this cemetery in 1788; held the 1st
Winthrop town meeting at his house in
1771; and hosted Jesse Lee in 1793 when
he preached the first ever Methodist sermon in
Readfield. Eileen's paternal grandmother
was Olive Whittier of Vienna.

 

We toured Jesse Lee Methodist Meetinghouse in East Readfield. Built in 1795, it is the oldest Methodist Church in Maine and the oldest in New England to be still offering services. Following this tour we crossed Plains Road to East Readfield Cemetery where we placed American flags on the graves of our veterans. Four of our walker's have ancestors who are buried there and they were able to place the flags themselves. It was a beautiful day and a very enjoyable walk! 

 

"Young Charlie Elvin” joined us this time. His parents, Charlie and Marjorie, were among the founding members of the ORIGINAL History Walkers in the 1970s, which is the inspiration for what we are doing now! To learn more about those original walks visit the link below to read my tribute to them. I wrote this for the introduction to a book a few years ago. To Those Who Led The Way.