ing-house built. It was a primitive log affair, forty by twenty-five, with one turret for a bell and another for a watchman. In 1677 this gave place to a larger and better house of worship, and in 1752 the third house was built. In 1819 the fourth and present structure was erected, west of the former site. Those who now worship God in warm, comfortable temples with upholstered pews can reflect how the old worshippers here had no heat in cold weather till 1826, except the foot stove that each carried, and that till 1862 hard boards were thought to conduce to greater spirituality than cushions! After all the vicissitudes of two centuries and a half, the First Church is probably still the strongest church in the city. While the whole body of Springfield churches are earnest and active, none has gone in advance of this; the old "First" is still the first. Rev. Michael Burnham, D. D., the present and tenth pastor, is a man of strong pulpit power, and warm, genial nature. He is a trustee of Amherst College, and his name was mentioned at one time in connection with the presidency of that institution.
      Dr. Samuel Osgood was for forty-five years the pastor of the First Church. At the time of his settlement, in 1809, many in New England were drifting away from the Trinitarian standard. Dr. Osgood stood firm for orthodoxy, his preaching being possibly a little over- strong in doctrinal force, as was to be expected from an aggressive mind at a time of theological unrest. In 1815 certain of his parishioners withdrew and formed another church. It was not the plan to form a Unitarian Church, when the one hundred and seventeen withdrew. They formed the "Third Congregational Society." Among the number was Rev. B. Howard, the predecessor of Dr. Osgood, who had resigned his pastorate because of ill health. Under their first pastor, Dr. Win. B. 0. Peabody, many adopted the Unitarian faith and carried the church over to that' denomination. Dr. Peabody was a forcible preacher, and a man of fine personality, with a warm religious nature. Among his successors have been Rev. Francis Tiffany, Rev. A. D. Mayo, and Rev. John Cuckson, who recently went to the Arlington Street Church in Boston. The present pastor is Rev. J. Bradley Gilman. The church structure was built in 1869. It was the first church designed by Richardson, the architect of Trinity Church, Boston. "The Church of the "Unity," says a writer upon Richardson, "was a much more important work than usually falls to the lot of a beginner. He had been trained in Paris upon problems of a very different kind. The success of his effort is therefore doubly remarkable." It is a beautiful Gothic church with the tower separate from the main building, quite unlike the Romanesque style in which Richardson afterwards worked.
      In 1842 the South Congregational Church was organized, as an offshoot from the First, to satisfy the needs of a rapidly growing town. Rev. Noah Porter was the first pastor. In 1847 he was called to Yale College. The present pastor (emeritus), Rev. Samuel Giles Buckingham, D. D., succeeded Dr. Porter. In 1874 the second house of worship was erected, at a cost of $145,000. The interior, without a gallery, is cheerful, and the coloring of the windows is rich and harmonious. The parish house in the rear is connected with the church, and contains a large chapel, parlor, lecture-room, and kitchen. Rev. Edward G. Selden, the late active pastor, a fine preacher, with a rare gift for extemporaneous speaking, has recently gone to the Dutch Reformed Church at Albany.
      Dr. Buckingham is something more than the pastor of the South Church. His long connection with one of the strongest churches in the section has given him a unique place in the hearts of the people both of the city and of the Connecticut Valley. He is a brother of the late "war governor" of Connecticut. Dr. Buckingham was prominently associated with the activities of the leading patriots of Springfield in the stirring times of 1861. If a stranger, or one not allied with the religious organizations of the city, is in need of religious help, Dr. Buckingham is the sympathizing father who is sought. More than any other, it is he who unites their sons and daughters