Abstract Charlestown proper was founded in 1628 and formally settled on July 4, 1629. The First Church of Charlestown was gathered in 1632. The church’s third meeting house was destroyed during the Battle of Bunker Hill and the fourth meeting house was not constructed until 1783 after the American Revolutionary War had ended. In 1913, the Winthrop Church merged with the First Church. In 1957, the interior of the church was destroyed by a fire; financial hardship delayed the restoration of the church...