The Old Round Church in Richmond, Vermont was built in 1813 and has a simplistic 16-sided, Federal-style structure meant to transmit a feeling of lightness, according to a Richmond Historical Society brochure.

From the outside, the bell shape seemed oddly heavy to me, though.

Inside, individual box pews were the property of local families who purchased them to raise money for the interdenominational church. The pews are closed in to conserve the heat of hot stones brought in by early parishioners – a primitive kind of heating system.