The First Baptist Church in Newton was founded in 1788. Its historic building (built 1888) is located at 848 Beacon Street in the village of
Newton Centre
Newton Centre is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The main commercial center of Newton Centre is a triangular area surrounding the intersections of Beacon Street, Centre St ...
, in
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...
. On April 15, 1982, it was listed in the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
Affiliations
As an American Baptist Church, all decisions on church matters rest with its own members. First Baptist Church in Newton is affiliated with the
American Baptist Churches USA
The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline/evangelical Baptist Christian denomination within the United States. The denomination maintains headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The organization is usually considered mainli ...
and a member of The American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts (TABCOM). It also belongs to the Alliance of Baptists and to AWAB, the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists.
History
First Baptist Church in Newton was founded on July 5, 1780, on a site just west
of the present building.
[History – First Baptist Church in Newton](_blank)
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The present building was constructed in 1888 in the Richardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanesque ...
architectural style pioneered by Henry Hobson Richardson
Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...
. The church's architect was John Lyman Faxon
John Lyman Faxon (1851-1918) was an American architect practicing in Boston, Massachusetts, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Three of his buildings, the First Baptist Church in Newton (Massachusetts), First Baptist Church ...
.
Famous minister
Samuel Francis Smith, famous as the author of ''My Country, 'Tis of Thee
"America (My Country, 'Tis of Thee)" is an American patriotic song, the lyrics of which were written by Samuel Francis Smith. The song served as one of the ''de facto'' national anthems of the United States (along with songs like "Hail, Columb ...
'' (also known as ''America''), was minister of the church from 1842 to 1854. The bell tower on the present building was given in his memory and was rededicated as the ''America'' bell tower in 1932.
See also
*
References
External links
First Baptist Church in Newton website
The American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts website
{{DEFAULTSORT:First Baptist Church In Newton (Massachusetts)
National Register of Historic Places in Newton, Massachusetts
Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Baptist churches in Massachusetts
Religious organizations established in 1780
Churches completed in 1888
19th-century Baptist churches in the United States
18th-century Baptist churches in the United States
Churches in Newton, Massachusetts
Stone churches in Massachusetts