Object Story: Before the Burning of Old South Church in Bath, Maine

On July 6, 1854, an angry crowd set fire to this church in the town of Bath, Maine. This set of paintings by John Hilling shows the church in the early stages of the fire and then again once it is fully engulfed in flames. This is not a scene imagined by the painter; it actually happened.

Voicing anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant sentiments, a traveling speaker from the national Know Nothing Party drew a large crowd in the streets of Bath on July 6. At that time, it was common for Know Nothing representatives to travel from town to town persuading people to join the cause. Stirred up by the speech and the efforts of some townspeople to break up the crowd, the group headed to the Old South Church, where Catholic people in Bath worshipped, and set fire to it.

Prior to European contact, what is known as Bath, Maine, was a settlement called Sagadahoc that was established by the Abenaki people, an Algonquian-speaking North American Indian tribe. European settlers arrived in the early 1600s but had many failed attempts at building a colony. In 1660 they took the land and began to settle the area; shipbuilding became a primary industry starting around 1750. The shipbuilding industry helped grow the city, and in 1854 there were about twenty major shipbuilding companies. The population expanded rapidly, and many immigrants were coming from all over to participate in the booming economy.

The rioters were connected to a new political group called “The American Party” (who were more often known as the Know Nothing Party). The Know Nothing Party began in New York as a secret club and quickly spread throughout the United States including to Maine. In order to join, members had to answer a series of questions about their beliefs and their American heritage. Members swore to keep the party’s secrets and were required to say, “I know nothing” when asked about the group. The group promoted anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic positions that were directed against populations like the Irish community in Bath.

What Do We Know about the Painter?

We know that John Hilling was an immigrant. He was born in England and came to the United States as a young man around 1840. He had been painting houses and signs in Bath for several years before the fire at the church. The fire must have made a substantial impression on Hilling, who lived in Bath just a few blocks from the church. He made his first set of paintings about the event shortly after the fire and then made several very similar sets of the same scene. Little is known about Hilling’s own beliefs about the incident. 

Questions for Discussion

• Discuss other religious groups who had their houses of worship burned in the past. What was life like at that time? How did the situations influence what happened? Consider what religious groups have had their houses of worship burned or vandalized today. Are there similarities or differences in what happened?
• Explore the changing demographics of the country during the time of this painting. Consider how different perspectives and experiences influenced people's thinking and compare those to current events. How much has changed? How has it stayed the same?
• How does displaying the American flag have different meanings about group belonging for different people? Watch for the American flag in different images that you see through time. How have they been used? What does the image convey and mean for different people or moments in history?
• Can you think of an example of mob violence against a group of Americans today? Think about what you know about those incidents and compare them to this moment in 1854. How are the incidents similar? How are they different?
• Can you think of different groups in United States history in the past or now that may have been, or are in, an in-group or out-group? What do we know about their stories or behaviors towards other groups?