After the First Congregational Church in Deerfield became Unitarian, a group of orthodox Congregationalists separated to make their own church. In 1838, they constructed the “White Church.” The differences between the two churches were resolved in 1931 and in 1957, the White Church was purchased to become part of Historic Deerfield. It is now the White Church Community Center.
The First Church of Deerfield‘s current meeting house is the town’s fifth in succession, all of which were built on or around Meeting House Hill. The earliest of these buildings was burned during King Philip’s War. The second and third meeting houses are pictured in a sketch of Deerfield buildings made by Dudley Woodbridge in 1738. The second was built in 1682, the third in 1695. In 1952, Deerfield’s post office was remodeled to resemble the third meeting house, which was in use until 1728. The fourth meeting house, the first to have a steeple, was built in 1729 and taken down in 1824, to make way for the current church, which is known as the “Brick Church.” It was built by contractor Winthrop Clapp and was modeled on the 1819 Second Congregational Church in Greenfield. In 1807, a controversy began when the church ordained a Unitarian minister, Rev. Samuel Willard. He was succeeded by other Unitarians. Orthodox Congregationalists eventually broke away and built their own church in 1838. The Brick Church remains a Unitarian Universalist Church today.