The 1791 Meeting House was not the first meeting house built in Ashburnham.

The first Meeting House was constructed around 1739 on Meeting House Hill (at the intersection of Cushing Street and Hastings Road) while the area was still considered just a settlement. Safety concerns over King George’s War (1744–1748), the third of four French and Indian Wars, caused the area to be abandoned, leaving the building unfinished and unused. In 1752, when the former the inhabitants returned, they voted to repair and finish the building for use as a meeting house for worship. In 1765, Ashburnham was then incorporated as a town, and the residents acquired possession and control of this first meeting house. The no newly incorporated town of Ashburnham unanimously supported the Meeting House to serve both a community center and a place of worship church, which at that time included a tax assessed upon all for the support of the ministry.

Throughout the Revolutionary War the population of the town grew and with every available space in the original meeting house in use, the residents determined that a larger, more accommodating, Meeting House should be built. This second meeting house was completed November 4, 1791, and also served as a meeting house for worship and a secular gathering place until 1824. At this time some discord developed over the combined use of the meeting hall and the tax money also supporting a place of worship. At this time the town decided to separate its secular and religious functions.

The original 1791 Meeting House was moved from Meeting House Hill to its current location, 79 Main Street, in 1836. It served as the Ashburnham Town Hall until 1905, when this function was replaced with the Fairbanks Memorial Hall, currently called the Town Hall, on June 7, 1905.

In the 1960’s, the Town of Ashburnham sold the 1791 Meeting House to the Ashburnham Historical Society for $1. The Ashburnham Historical Society officially opened the 1791 Meeting House Museum to the public in 1964 for the purpose of showcasing its collection of artifacts and hosting educational and fundraising programs.

The Meeting House Museum is currently open to the public on Saturdays, from 10:00 am-1:00 pm, April through October.