The Georgia Plain Baptist Church is a historic church in
Georgia, Vermont
Georgia is a town in Franklin County, Vermont, United States. The population was 4,845 at the 2020 census.
Geography
The town occupies the southwest corner of Franklin County, bordered to the south by Chittenden County. The western border of th ...
. Built in 1877 for a congregation established in 1793, it is a well-preserved example of High Gothic Victorian architecture. It 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 v ...
in 2001.
The congregation is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches of Vermont and New Hampshire.
Description and history
The Georgia Plain Baptist Church stands in the rural crossroads village of Georgia Plains in southwestern Georgia, on the west side of Stonebridge Road near its junction with Plains Road. It is a single-story brick building, built out of red brick laid in English bond, with sand-colored brick trim. The main block has a steeply pitched gable roof, and is fronted by a three-part facade. The right element of the facade is the main tower, rising as a buttressed square to a louvered belfry at the base of the slate-clad steeple. The main entrance is in its base, set in a Gothic arched opening, with a small lancet window above. The left element of the facade is a lower gabled section, with a less ornate secondary entrance. The central part of the facade houses a large stained glass Gothic-arched window. The interior retains many original features, including carved woodwork, a pressed metal ceiling, and original lighting fixtures.
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The Georgia Baptists were organized in 1793, and were the town's second religious congregation after the Congregationalists. They at first met for many years in Georgia's town hall, before building their first church at this site in 1848. That church burned down in 1876, and this church was completed the following year. The congregation is distinctive for ordaining the first female pastor of any denomination in the state of Vermont, Rev. Grace Brooks in 1919. The congregation's longest-serving and most influential minister was the Rev.
Alvah Sabin
Alvah Sabin (October 23, 1793 – January 22, 1885) was an American politician and clergyman. He served as a United States representative from Vermont.
Biography
Sabin was born in Georgia, Vermont, to Benjamin Sabin and Polly McMaster Sabin, and ...
, a Georgia native and United States Representative who was pastor for 53 years.
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See also
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References
External links
Georgia Plain Baptist Church web site
{{NRHP in Franklin County, Vermont
Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont
Gothic Revival church buildings in Vermont
Churches completed in 1877
19th-century Baptist churches in the United States
Buildings and structures in Georgia, Vermont
Churches in Franklin County, Vermont
Baptist churches in Vermont
National Register of Historic Places in Franklin County, Vermont
1877 establishments in Vermont