On Saturday May 14th, Paul Wainwright, photographer and historian, presented New England Meeting Houses and Their Impact on Society. Thanks so much to everyone who came out to help promote the first event of our summer season at the Dana Meeting House.
Special thanks to the New Hampton Historical Society for co-hosting a wonderful presentation. Ruth Gulick from the Historical Society introduced the event to a lovely turnout and we all enjoyed a great presentation by the speaker augmented by his amazing photographs of early New England Meeting Houses across New Hampshire and the region. This meeting marks the first time the two organizations have had the opportunity to co-present and both groups are excited to host such a talk in the unique, historic Dana Meeting House.
In colonial days, a Meeting House played a significant role in the community and was often one of the first structures built. It was a community building where the townspeople could gather to worship or participate in town government. In early New England, there was little distinction between faith and governance. These meeting houses, which were built often through taxation but not always, served as important places for the community to gather for faith and government.

Paul Wainwright is a fine-art, large format black & white photographer who lives and works in Atkinson, New Hampshire. Paul specializes in traditional, wet-process photography, and produces museum-quality prints. His portfolio includes interpretive images of landscapes and historic architecture. His work evokes a feeling of quietness and contemplation, and has been described as being reminiscent of some of the masters of the mid 20th century.

Paul has been making black & white photographs for more than 45 years. For a short time he considered majoring in photography in college, but instead he was drawn to physics, and earned a PhD from Yale. He enjoyed a rewarding career in research at Bell Laboratories. However, photography provided an expressive outlet for him, and in 2001 he left Bell Labs to pursue his original love full time. Paul’s first photography book, A Space for Faith: The Colonial Meetinghouses of New England is a collection of Wainwright’s classic black and white photographs that paints a composite portrait of these once ubiquitous landmarks of the New England landscape. Only a few remain as they were – touched only by time – and Wainwright’s photographs give us a glimpse into an age when life was simpler. Paul also partnered with noted New England historian Peter Benes who wrote the accompanying essay and made clear the strong roll that these buildings played in early American Society. Think of it, the original Tea Party was organized in one—the Old South Meeting House!

Working with large format camera as well as hand developing each negative and photo in his own darkroom has added to the intimacy he finds in documenting these unique spaces. Paul noted, “I am looking forward to presenting at the Dana Meeting House as it will be my first time there!” To learn more visit his website at: paulwainrightphotography.com.

Thanks also to New Hampshire Humanities “To Go” program for sponsoring this event.