The First Baptist Church is a historic Baptist church meeting house in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

building was constructed in 1829, and has been a prominent landmark of the city ever since. Its tower appears on the city seal. The church was listed on 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 ...

in 1975, and included in the

County Street Historic District The County Street Historic District is a historic district roughly bounded by Acushnet, Page, Middle, and Bedford streets (both sides) in New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA. The district was a fashionable residential area populated by the city's ...

in 1976. In 1863 Major Henry M. Robert attended the annual general meeting at the First Baptist Church in New Bedford and on the spot was elected the chairman pro tem of the meeting. He was embarrassed because he knew nothing of how to run a meeting. It was that meeting that caused him to begin studying parliamentary law, which culminated in the publication of the first edition of his book, ''

Robert's Rules of Order ''Robert's Rules of Order'', often simply referred to as ''Robert's Rules'', is a manual of parliamentary procedure by U.S. Army officer Henry Martyn Robert. "The object of Rules of Order is to assist an assembly to accomplish the work for whic ...

'', in 1876. In 2015 the landmark was declared a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

References

Churches completed in 1829 Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Churches in New Bedford, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in New Bedford, Massachusetts Historic district contributing properties in Massachusetts {{Massachusetts-church-stub

See also

References