This 18th-century lean-to house, painted white to harmonize with more modern Greek Revival structures on the common, might well have been the home of a minister. Parsonages were not provided rent-free by local churches, and ministers’ families had to buy or rent. A house like this would have cost somewhere around $600 to $800 or rented at the rate of about $50 to $80 a year. Lest this seem outlandishly cheap, we should remember that country ministers’ salaries averaged under $500—payable at the end of the yearly contract.

Until 1833, when church and state were legally separated in Massachusetts, Congregational clergymen in some communities were still paid out of town taxes. A minister’s family would have many other expenses as well: food and clothing, a horse and vehicle, books and periodicals, postage, medical bills, home furnishings, and even firewood if it was not included in his contract. Living costs were high for them because they received visitors constantly and often kept guests overnight. Like other center village families they were likely to keep some chickens and tend their vegetable garden—planted in up-to-date raised beds.

Contrasting with the 18th century, when clergymen often served a single parish for life, ministers in the early 19th century averaged only five or six years in one place before moving on. Churches had grown more demanding and ministers more ambitious. They went on to other churches and possibly higher pay, or sometimes sought more security in college teaching positions or the satisfaction of missionary work. Although ministers and their wives were under constant scrutiny, they were important leaders in the community. Besides preparing for two lengthy sermons each week, ministers visited widely through their towns, counseled the troubled, and were called on to play a variety of roles in community affairs. Their wives were expected to take the lead in the just-emerging women’s religious charitable and reform associations, and to be seen as exemplary wives and mothers. The reform causes of the early Republic—temperance, prison reform, foreign missions, anti-slavery—called strongly to many ministers and their families. At the Parsonage, the minister or members of his family are always “at home,” in early 19th-century character, ready to welcome their guests and discuss with them the important social issues of the times.

The minister has taken one downstairs room as a study, where he prepares his sermons and confers with callers. Arrangements in parlor, kitchen, and upstairs chambers reflect this household’s concerns with the community as well as its own daily life