Early Saturday morning, December 9, 1911, the Old South Church was destroyed by fire. The alarm was rung about 3:35 A.M. When the fire was discovered, it had already made such headway, it was clear the building was doomed. Just before 4 o'clock the steeple with the bell fell down with a resounding crash. Firemen concentrated on saving the Centre School about a hundred feet from the church, the chapel behind the church, and the parsonage. Forunately, there was very little wind that night and sparks that flew in the air were carried over Laurel Hill Cemetery. The school, the chapel, and the parsonage were saved.
A fourteen year old Reading school girl wrote this poem:
The Burning of the Old South Church
I awoke one night-- a dark cold night --
And into my room was shining a light;
I heard the shouting of men and boys
And together with firebells made a great noise.
I quickly went to the window to see
What the cause of all that excitement could be.
And at what I saw I stood in amaze,
For the Old South Church was all ablaze.
My heart stood still as I watched it burn,
And the labor of years into ashes turn.
As it blazed away making the whole sky light
'Twas a beautiful and a terrible sight.
Women wailed as they watched it all.
Strong men felt very helpless and small.
Crash! all at once the steeple went down,
And a shower of sparks flew over the town.
All thro' this the hours had sped on
And now just at the flush of dawn
All that is left of the old landmark
Is smouldering ruins -- the work of a spark.
The fire started near or in the belfry, and had clearly been set. An earlier fire, on November 12, started under the eaves, but was discovered by street railway men and damage was held to just over a hundred dollars. Ths fire had not been thought suspicious at the time, but now the view was changed. It was believed that Reading had a fire bug, since two weeks ealier Odd Fellows Block had bured, and T.C. Fife's building on Woburn Street had recently had a fire. The selectmen offered a $1,000 reward for evidence leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the fire. The State Fire Marshall's Office worked with the Reading Fire Chief investigating the fire and questioning suspects.
The Church received $11,848 in insurance, but this was not enough to rebuild the church. The building had been considered one of the best examples of colonial church architecture in New England, and the citizens of the town felt strongly that the church should be replaced with a duplicate of the old one, at least as far as the exterior was concerned. A Citizen's Fund was formed to gather donations from people outside the church, but some pledges were conditional on the exterior being the same as that of the old church. The Reading Chronicle gave the Fund much publicity and published the names of contributors. There is a story of a little boy, A.R. Shapardson, who received a dollar as one of his Christmas gifts. As soon as he could, he donated it to the Building Fund. Mrs. Jessie Thaxter's Sunday School class had a cake sale in the Chapel and raised $14. On January 19, 1912, The Congregational Church collected $609.82, including $103 from the Brotherhood. That evening, just as the service in the Old South Chapel was ending, a delegation from the Congregational Church, lead by Reverenc D. Augustine Newton, entered to express their sympathy and present their offering. This was especially generous, since the Congregationalists had completed their own church just over a year earlier.
Other chuches also donated, and there were many fund raiser, including those organized by Priscilla Chapter, O.E.S., Security Fife, Drum, and Bugle Corps, and the High School. Donations were received from many groups and individuals. By June $10,678.70 had been donated or pledged, and this with the $11,848 from insurance brought the total to $22,526.70. The cost of the new building was set at $32,000. The Church felt it could handle a $4,000 mortgage on the property, but needed to raise $6,l000 more to cover costs. The Chronicle put out another appeal for more donations and eventually the goal was reached.
The new church was designed by the architects Adden and Parker, and contractors began work in June, 1912. As work progressed, the townspeope began discussing the need for a new clock and bell, since these had not been figured into the cost of replacing the church. A committee was appointed to study the cost and placement of a clock and bell. It was decided a Seth Thomas clock with illuminated dials on four sides, a modern winding mechanism, and a 1500 pound bell would be best and most satisfactory to the town. The cost would be $1,055 for the clock and $860 for the bell. The church received $300 credit for the old bell, so that left $1,615 to be raised. Again, the Reading Chronicle put out an appeal for donations, stating its support: "1st, it will be a great benefit to all; 2nd, absolutely correct time is essential to present day civilization; 3rd, the four illuminated dials will not only make it a twenty-four hour clock but will be a distinctive feature that will attract the attention of thousands of people passing daily through the town in motor cars and thus advertise the town in the right way; 4th, the deep-toned bell will carry to the outskirts with its tale of passing time." Later the Chronicle reported "Reading people are subscribing toward the illuminated clock of the Old South with their usual generosity. This clock being 'for the benefit of all' in its principle function will also be the best advertisement to the outside world Reading could possibly have." Donations were received from residents of North Reading and Wilmington as well.
In the belief that autoists who passed through the town would also benefit from a clock, a sign was put up in Reading Square saying, "Attention Autoists! Help us to put a New Clock with Illuminated Dials on the New Old South Church, Reading Square by leaving your contributions at the Drug Stores." This brought in at least $700 from more than 200 people. By the middle of November $1200 had been pledged, and on November 27, the day before Thanksgiving, Adams Store advertised that it would donate to the fund ten percent of all the money it took in for the day.
With the goal in sight, the clock was ordered from the Seth Thomas Company, and the bell, from the Meneely Company of Troy, New York. A representative of the company visited Reading to get the tone of the Congregational Church bell so the new bell could be made to harmonize. The bell arrived just after Christmas and was intalled in time for New Year's Eve services. The bell was inscribed: "Reading, MASS., A.D. 192. This bell and clock was puchased by the Old Soth Methodist Episcopal Society and interested citizens of the town for the benefit of all."
Consecration services for the bell began at 11:30 P.M, December 31, 1912, when all who could reach the belfry gathered there for services. The Reverend Joseph E. Waterhouse, who had led the church throughout the period of rebuilding, led the services and offered the consecrating prayer. The service continued in the corridor below where more people were gathered. At 11:56 the bell began to toll and continued until the year 1913 had arrived. Meanwhile the people had moved outside in front of the church for the close of the services.
The clock arrived a short time later and was quickly installed. The original clock had white hands on a black face, the new clock had a white face so light bulbs could be installed and the clock could be seen at night.
Dedication services for the new church were held April 13-2, 1913. There were three special church services each Sunday. At this time the church was dedicated free of debt and set aside for the "worship of God and the service of humanity". On Tuesday evening a banquet was held which was attended by five former pastors as well as pastors of other Reading churches. President Murlin of Boston University gave the address.
The Parish House was not harmed in the fire of 1911 which destroyed the original church, so the building served as a chapel while the new church was built. In 1915 the building was moved forty feet west and turned half around so it faced east instead of south. It was felt that this gave a more harmonious grouping to the three buildings - the church, the parsonage, and the parish house. At this time the building was used by the Reading Young Men's Club which included the fifth largest rifle club in the state. Boy Scout Troop 2 (now Troop 702) was organized in 1915 aand used the building for its activities.