Sunday, February 16, 2020
2:00 pm
Free and open to the public

On Sunday, February 16 at 2:00 pm, Bennington Historical Society presents
Don Miller on
“Religion Comes To Bennington:
From the Puritans to the Separatists”

The settlement of Bennington in 1761 was an extension of the Puritan migration which began in Boston in 1630. Local historian, Don Miller, will trace that path through Massachusetts to Connecticut and eventually on to Bennington. When these “separatists” finally arrived in town, the local government set aside land for a minister and paid for the construction of a church/meeting house which stood on the Village Green until the Old First Church was built in 1805. In those days there was little evidence of a division between church and state. This program traces the history of the various religious movements that shaped the original settlers and caused them to retreat to unsettled lands in Vermont. His talk touches on various doctrines of the early church with focus on the Savoy Declaration, the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Cambridge Platform.

Don Miller, the current President of the Bennington Historical Society is a long-time resident and a student of Bennington’s history. He is a Vice President of the Vermont Historical Society and active in the Old First Church in Old Bennington. He is a retired lawyer and an insurance broker in Bennington.

All Bennington Historical Society programs are free and open to the public.