First Parish Portland (1825)

The history of the First Parish Church is linked to the founding of Portland and of Maine. This Unitarian-Universalist church, the oldest house of worship in the city, was commissioned in 1824 to replace "Old Jerusalem," a wooden structure built in 1740. "Old Jerusalem" was damaged by British cannonballs in 1775; the Maine Constitution was drafted in the church building in 1819. First Parish is listed on National Register of Historic Places.