What gatherings were held at a meetinghouse?

Answer 1

Probably all of them...church, town hall meetings, court procedings, you name it!

Answer 2

The meeting house was the classic large room in a building, a community building, in a New England town, often located on the town's green. The meeting house was used as a church, since they hated all sorts of things that reminded them of the Roman Catholics, so there were no statues, stained glass, etc. It was also the only building in town where the people could gather. By the way, the men sat on one side and the women on the other. Children sat with the women. So it was here that any sort of town council, town meeting, whatever was held. As you see in The Crucible, it is also the place where court was held, again, because it was usually the one and only place that was large enough to conduct business. All of the affairs of the town were held here, because it was normally the only large building in town. They were usually made of wood, had clear windows, and were lighted by candles (there was no other choice). They also usually had a bell to summon the people of the town.