"People drive by this church every day, or attend services Sunday, without knowing the wealth of history or the stories of the people who lived through historic times that shape our present lives and community," Bronson de Stadler, a member of St. Paul's congregation who is helping organize the tours, told the local Daily News newspaper.

The congregation of St. Paul's came into being in 1711, in a small wooden chapel near what is now a shopping complex. This makes St. Paul's the second-oldest congregation in Newburyport, according to the newspaper.

At the request of colonists, a chaplain was dispatched from England to minister there. As the area's merchant population grew, the congregation relocated to its current location, and the original building fell into disrepair and collapsed. But the weathervane from that original church, nearly 300 years old, is on display near the church entrance.

Another historic artifact at St. Paul's is the bell that sits nearby. Though cracked and no longer suitable for ringing, the bell is one of only 23 surviving bells made by famous patriot Paul Revere. Better known as a silversmith, Revere and his sons shifted their focus to casting bells when the post-revolutionary economy put silver out of reach for most Americans.

One of the most compelling figures in the history of St. Paul's, according to the Daily News, was the Rev. Edward Bass, who was rector from 1753 to 1803. Bass had to tread a difficult line during the Revolution, as the leader of a Church of England congregation in open rebellion against the king who headed their church. Most Anglican churches in Massachusetts closed their doors during the Revolution, with only St. Paul's and Trinity Church in Boston staying open throughout.

Bass' commitment to keeping the church open was not well-regarded in England, however.

As the revolution reached a boiling point, St. Paul's was swept up in the new patriotic sentiments. The Declaration of Independence was read from the pulpit, and at the urging of the leading members of the church, Bass altered his prayers and services, using his quill to strike out any reference to King George III or the royal family.

After the revolution, Bass was elected Episcopal Bishop of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and eventually New Hampshire. He continued to serve as the rector of St. Paul's, however, making it the first bishop's church in Massachusetts.

The church has suffered its setbacks -- the communion silver given to the congregation by King George III was stolen, Revere's bell cracked, and in 1921, the 1800 wooden church building burned. But the congregation soon rebuilt on the same site, using a design by William Graves Perry, the architect behind the recreation and restoration of Colonial Williamsburg.