Paying rent to sit in a certain pew at church for a worship service may seem extremely strange nowadays. Yet there was a time when the practice was quite common for certain congregations, including Trinitarian Congregational Church.

What you are looking at are the original plans for pew assignment and cost. It’s in extremely fragile condition. Each pew had a set price and members were expected to pay yearly for the privilege of sitting in a designated pew. Like at a concert, the cheap seats were less money than the prime seats up front.

After much searching, I finally found our pew register from 1880. This is the page of our benefactor George L. Davis.

Mr. Davis and family sat in pew #95 and paid for the whole pew, where some members shared the cost and paid for ½ a pew. Mr. Davis paid the high premium price of $20 per year. So, if you happen to sit in pew #95, feel honored to be sitting in the pew of the man who graciously gave the funding and land to build the church and pew you are sitting in.

Until next time.

Jill, The Historian