Fire Allegedly Set at Historic Plymouth Church

Photo credit: Preservation Massachusetts.

A woman allegedly set fire to the foyer of the First Parish in Plymouth, Unitarian Universalist Church, on Sunday afternoon.

Christine Erikson, 35, of Middleborough, has been charged with arson, injury to a church, breaking and entering to commit a felony, and assault, according to The Boston Globe.

Erikson was reportedly hiding inside the church after the Sunday services.

CBSBoston reported that the woman set items on fire and even threw them at first responders when they arrived.

“There is damage in the foyer, some furniture broken and the meetinghouse is filled with smoke. Nobody was hurt,” according to the church’s Facebook page.

“And as always, thank you to the Plymouth Police and Fire Departments for their hard work in putting out the fire and finding the person who did this.”

The First Parish is the oldest continuous church in New England and was founded by Pilgrims in 1620. The 1899 church building is on the National Register of Historic Places. Here is a Patch story about the building from 2011.

The building is also on Prevention Massachusetts’ “Most Endangered Historic Resources” list.