Church of the Good Shepherd (Dedham, Massachusetts)

The first group of Anglicans in Dedham began meeting in Clapboardtrees in 1731.[1] A few decades later, Samuel Colburn[lower-alpha 1] died in the Crown Point Expedition of 1756.[2] Though he was not an Anglican, he left almost his entire estate to the Anglican community in Dedham to establish St. Paul's Church.[2]

Charles C. Sanderson, who sold the building lots in Oakdale, also erected a building containing a public hall and a store.[3] A mission Sunday school was begun by lay readers from St. Paul's in the Sanderson Building on June 8, 1873[3] for Anglicans in the Oakdale section of town who could not get to the church easily.[4] Soon after, on the 29th of the same month, public services of the Episcopal Church were begun in Sanderson Hall and for three years they were conducted by lay readers.[3]

The mission was funded by the family of Horatio Chickering, a member of St. Paul's.[3][5] In 1874, Chickering purchased a lot of land for the purpose of building a church.[3] He died in the spring of 1875 but he made provision in his will for the erection of the church.[3] Besides the gifts of the church and land by Chickering, the parish received other bequests from his widow, Lucy Lee Chickering, and from his sisters.[3] In the church were placed memorial windows in memory of Chickering and his sisters, Mrs. DF Adams and Miss HB Chickering.[3]

The parish was organized under the name of the Church of the Good Shepherd[3] and, at the 86th Annual Meeting of the Convention of the Diocese of Massachusetts in 1876, it was voted to accept the Church into union with the convention.[6] William Franklin Cheney was also elected to take charge of the congregation in August 1876.[3][7][lower-alpha 2]

The cornerstone of the church was laid by Bishop Benjamin Henry Paddock on June 8, 1876[10] and he consecrated the church just a few months later, on November 2.[11]

A tradition began the 1880s of youngsters from the community climbing to the top of the bell tower and ringing the bells at midnight on July 4 to celebrate Independence Day.[12]

Beginning in the early 1900s and continuing until the 1990s, bonfires would be held first in Oakdale Square and then in the Manor to celebrate the 4th of July.[13] It would usually begin at midnight, either on July 3 or July 4, when a young person would climb onto the roof of the Church and ring the bell.[13] This would signal others to bring old farm carts they had stolen into Oakdale Square and light them ablaze.[13]

The Church, along with the Dedham Country Day School, were the first to sponsor cub scout packs in Dedham.[14] As of 2023, the Church still sponsors Troop 3 of the Scouts BSA.[15]

When the cornerstone of the Oakdale School was laid in 1902, the Church's rector, Cheney, led the crowd in prayer.[16]

After arriving in Dedham in 1871, William B. Gould signed the Articles of Incorporation and became a founder of the Church.[17][18][19][20][21] He and his wife were baptized and confirmed there in 1878 and 1879.[22]

Gould's family remained active members of the church and, along with the Bonds and one other family, the Chesnuts, were the only black parishioners.[23][lower-alpha 3] Four generations of Goulds would ultimately be baptized there.[20]

A pew at the Church is dedicated to Gould and Cornelia.[25] When a park in Dedham was named in his honor, a sign with Gould's name and image was unveiled by his great-great-great-grandchildren.[26] It was then blessed by the former rector of the Church, Rev. Noble Scheepers.[26] When a statue was unveiled there two years later, it was blessed by Rev. Chitral De Mel, the then-current rector of the Church.[27][28]

This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Hurd, Duane Hamilton (1884). History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men. J. W. Lewis & Company. pp. 90–91. Retrieved July 3, 2023.

• Alexander, Adele Logan (July 2000). Homelands and Waterways: The American Journey of the Bond Family, 1846–1926 (Amazon Kindle ed.). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-307-42625-3. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
• Dedham Historical Society (2001). Images of America: Dedham. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-0944-0. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
• Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Massachusetts (1876). Journal of the Eighty-Sixth Annual Meeting of the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Massachusetts. Diocesan House.
• Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Massachusetts (1877). Journal of the Eighty-Seventh Annual Meeting of the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Massachusetts. Diocesan House.
• Hanson, Robert Brand (1976). Dedham, Massachusetts, 1635–1890. Dedham Historical Society.
• Gould IV, William B. (2002). Diary of a Contraband: The Civil War Passage of a Black Sailor (paperback ed.). Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-4708-3.
• Hurd, Duane Hamilton (1884). History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men. J. W. Lewis & Company. pp. 90–91. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
• Parr, James L. (2009). Dedham: Historic and Heroic Tales From Shiretown. The History Press. ISBN 978-1-59629-750-0.