Free Meeting House, Moncton

Baptist influence in the area of the Bend, later named Moncton, led to the erection of the Free Meeting House. Located 140-152 Steadman Street in Moncton, the Free Meeting House was built to serve as a home to all religious denominations in the area until they could raise funds to build their own churches. The building was dedicated for service by Baptist missionary, Elder Joseph Crandall on September 7, 1821, and is one of Moncton’s oldest standing public buildings. The Free Meeting House was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1990 and a Heritage Property in 1996. 

Records are sparse concerning the construction of the Free Meeting House. Elder Joseph Crandall and Ichabod Lewis have been credited with being the two leaders in the project. Since both men were familiar with the simple style of the New England meeting house and also very familiar with the religious intolerances existing in other areas, they decided on a meeting house which would serve all who wished to come and hold public worship.

The religious groups which have used this building for worship services at various times have included Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Reformed Episcopalians, Free Christian Baptists, Seventh-Day Adventists, Pentecostals, Christian Scientists, and Jews.

In 1921, after a century of remodelling and periodic neglect, the trustees of the Free Meeting House, along with religious groups such as the Seventh-Day Adventists and secular groups such as the Flat Iron Gang, worked side by side to rejuvenate the structure and the grounds.

A complete restoration of The Free Meeting House became a City of Moncton Centennial Project in 1990. Today, the fully restored Free Meeting House is the largest artifact curated by the Moncton Museum and still serves as a gathering site for secular and religious groups of any denomination, as well as private rentals for weddings, meetings and special events.