For seven long years the little town of Fitchburg bore bravely and unflinchingly the hardships of the war.  The burden to the inhabitants of furnishing their quota of men, money, and provisions, was a heavy one, the depreciation of the currency was ruinous; and they, in common with the rest of the people, found themselves in serious financial difficulties at the close of the war.  Taxes were high and money scarce, and the efforts of the authorities to collect the sums levied on the inhabitants finally led to organized resistance, which has come down to us under the name of Shay’s Rebellion.  With it the people of Fitchburg deeply sympathized, and in the initiatory proceedings they took an active, though a prudent part.  In June, 1786, the town sent Elijah Willard as a delegate to a convention at Worcester to discuss the grievances of the people, and voted to defend his property if he should be taken in person for his attendance, “provided he behaves himself in an orderly and peaceable manner; otherwise he is to risk it himself.”  Deeply sympathizing with the Shayites, the people of Fitchburg did everything in their power to prevent the collection of taxes by the authorities, short of armed resistance; and the consequence was that a military company was quartered among them, much to their indignation; and had they not soon been prudently withdrawn, bloodshed might have followed.

The population of Fitchburg had not remained stationary during the war, but had increased from 650 to about 1,000.  At its close there was the nucleus of a village scattered along the road near the river, now Main Street.  One might see Cowdin’s tavern, Kimball’s saw and grist mill, Fox’s store, a baker’s shop, and half a dozen houses between the American house and the upper Common.  The meeting-house upon the hill back of Main street was a small, shabby, yellow structure; the red store of Joseph Fox was below, and in the rear of his store his house with large projecting eaves.  The mill and residence of Deacon Ephraim Kimball were near by.  Up the road, and near the present residence of Ebenezer Torrey, was a bakery and a dwelling-house, and beyond, towards the west, were two or three houses and a blacksmith shop.  Pine stumps, hard-hack, and grape vines were plentiful by the side of the road.  Such was the village of Fitchburg in 1786.

In addition, however, to this little centre of population there was in the westerly part of the town, in the neighborhood of Dean Hill, a village which boasted a tavern, a store, and a blacksmith shop, and boldly sat up a claim of rivalship, and even superiority, to the little cluster of houses in the sandy valley.  Its people petitioned to the General Court, to be set off, with a part of Ashburnham and Westminster, into a new town.  However, a vigorous opposition from the inhabitants of the remainder of the town prevented its being granted.  But, defeated in one point, the Dean Hill people turned to another.  The time had now come when a new Church was needed,