Parsonsfield Seminary, which operated from 1832 to 1949, was a well-known Free Will Baptist school in North

Parsonsfield, Maine Parsonsfield is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was just 1,791 at the 2020 census. Parsonsfield includes the villages of Kezar Falls, Parsonsfield, and North, East and South Parsonsfield. It is part of the Portland& ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Also known as the North Parsonsfield Seminary, its preserved campus of four buildings is located on State Route 160 near the

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

border. The property is 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 ...

History

Free Will Baptists developed as a movement in the late eighteenth century in New Hampshire. In 1832 Rev.

John Buzzell John Buzzell (1766–1863) was an early proponent of the Free Will Baptist Church, a Christians, Christian author, and a preacher. John Buzzell was born in Barrington, New Hampshire in 1766. "His attainments were above average, early becoming ...

and several other Free Baptists founded the school in Parsonsfield. The Seminary, at the level of a high school, was the first Free Will Baptist school in the United States and attracted 140 students, both boys and girls, in its first year. The seminary's first principal, Hosea Quimby, was active in many other Free Will Baptist organizations. The Seminary staff and students became deeply involved with the abolitionist movement and operated as a stop on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

in the 1840s, while

Oren B. Cheney Oren Burbank Cheney (December 10, 1816 – December 22, 1903) was an American politician, minister, and statesman who was a key figure in the abolitionist movement in the United States during the later 19th century. Along with textile tycoon Ben ...

was principal. Students and supporters aided fugitive

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

from the South in reaching freedom in Canada. From 1840 to 1842, the Free Baptist Biblical School, the first Free Baptist graduate school for training ministers, was located at the seminary (it was later renamed

Cobb Divinity School Cobb Divinity School (also known as Bates Theological Seminary or the Free Will Baptist Bible School) was a Baptist theological institute. Founded in 1840, it was a Free Will Baptist graduate school affiliated with several Free Baptist institution ...

and became part of Bates College).

The burning of Parsonsfield

Parsonsfield Seminary burned mysteriously in 1853, at midnight. The overall account of the burning remains unclear, with sources varying on the actual occurrences. When recounting its burning, Oren Burbank Cheney, stated, "the bell tower flickered in flames while the children ran from its pillar-brick walls.." The fire was believed to have killed three school children, and two fugitive slaves, leading to a brief and unsuccessful investigation. The reason as to why the Seminary burned down remains unclear, with opponents of abolitionism traditionally, but not definitively, held accountable. The seminary would later go on to incorporate into the Maine State Seminary, to which early benefactor

Benjamin Bates Benjamin Edward Bates II (13 March 1716 – 12 May 1790) was a British physician, art connoisseur, and socialite. Born into wealth, he was a prominent member of society and was selected to become a member of the Sir Francis Dashwood's Hellfire ...

, would oppose. He advised Cheney to sell the land in

and reconstruct it within the newly developing Maine State Seminary. Afterward, Cheney moved the central campus to Lewiston in 1854 to replace it with a larger Free Baptist school more centrally located in Maine.

Reconstruction and development

In 1857 a smaller seminary building was rebuilt at Parsonsfield. It had a

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

and

weathervane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

. In 1889, Bartlett Doe, a wealthy

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

businessman who was a Parsonsfield native son, purchased the land, and donated funds to repair and remodel Seminary Hall, adding its rear wing and front

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

. His gift provided for the construction of a new dormitory, to which a large annex was added in 1896. He also established a school endowment of $100,000. Parsonsfield Seminary closed in 1949. The facility was subsequently used by the Consolidated School District until 1986, at which time the school offices moved to new quarters. The two main buildings of the seminary and grounds were listed on the

in 1986. To prevent loss of the historic hilltop campus, the Friends of the Parsonsfield Seminary organized to preserve and maintain the property. The non-profit, non-sectarian organization operates the handsome

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

buildings and grounds for use for weddings, conferences, seminars and graduations.

Notable alumni

, abolitionist, principal of Parsonfield Seminary, founder of Bates College * Person C. Cheney, senator from New Hampshire * Samuel W. Gould, congressman *

Lorenzo De Medici Sweat Lorenzo De Medici Sweat (May 26, 1818 – July 26, 1898) was a U.S. Representative from Maine. Early life and education He was born in the town of Parsonsfield in the Massachusetts District of Maine, where he attended Parsonsfield Semina ...

, congressman

References and external links

Friends of the Parsonsfield Seminary

Robert Greenleaf Leavitt, Maude Lougee Boothby, Dr. Bernard L. Towle, and Kate E. Barker Thursto. ''History of Parsonsfield Seminary: 1932 Centennial Edition'' (1932)

Parsonsfield, Maine. {{Authority control Baptist schools in the United States Bates College Baptist seminaries and theological colleges in the United States Educational institutions established in 1832 Free Will Baptists School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine Underground Railroad locations Seminaries and theological colleges in Maine Schools in York County, Maine School segregation in the United States Defunct schools in Maine National Register of Historic Places in York County, Maine Parsonsfield, Maine Arson in Maine African-American history of Maine Free Will Baptist schools

History

The burning of Parsonsfield

Reconstruction and development

Notable alumni

See also

References and external links