Churches Archives - Page 33 of 46

First Baptist Church, Suffield Connecticut

April 8, 2017July 9, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The First Baptist Church in Suffield, around 1920. Image from Celebration of the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Settlement of Suffield, Connecticut (1921).

The church in 2015:

Baptist churches were rare in 18th century New England; churches could only be established with the approval of the colonial legislature, and citizens paid church taxes to support the official colonial church, the Congregational church. However, following the Great Awakening, other denominations began establishing churches, including the Baptists. The first Baptist church in Hartford County was built here in 1769, just across the street from the present-day church, at the intersection of Hill Street and Russell Avenue. This small settlement, some three miles from the main village of Suffield, became the center of Baptist activity in the area.

The original building was replaced in 1793 with a brick one, located on the same spot as the current one. Because of its remote location, though, it was inconvenient for many people from eastern Suffield to attend, so in 1805, the Second Baptist Church was established in the center of town. Their present-day meeting house was built in 1840, a large brick structure that contrasts with the small present-day First Baptist Church seen here, which was built in 1846. The Zion’s Hill Cemetery is located the church, with gravestones dating back to the 1700s, including Joseph Hastings, the founder of the church.

The First Baptist Church continued to meet here until the 1920s, and for nearly a century the building has not been regularly used. However, it is still occasionally used for special church services, which are limited to the summer because of the building’s lack of heat. Today, the church is well-preserved, and it forms the centerpiece of the Hastings Hill Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

West Suffield Congregational Church, Suffield Connecticut

August 29, 2016July 6, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The West Suffield Congregational Church, at the corner of Mountain Road and North Grand Street in Suffield, around 1920. Image from Celebration of the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Settlement of Suffield, Connecticut (1921).

The church in 2015:

The West Suffield Congregational Church was established in 1740 by the Massachusetts General Court (at the time, Suffield and several other northern Connecticut towns were part of Massachusetts), and the congregation was organized three years later. The first pastor, John Graham, served for 50 years, ending his ministry in 1796, around the same time that the original building was replaced. The second building was completed in 1795, and sat on the same spot as the present-day building.

The second pastor of the church, Daniel Waldo, was perhaps the most remarkable in the long history of the congregation. He was born in 1762 and served in the American Revolution at the age of 16. Following his graduation from Yale, he became the pastor here, and served from 1792 until about 1810. After leaving Suffield, he served as a missionary in Pennsylvania and New York, and was the pastor of several other New England churches before being named Chaplain of the House of Representatives in 1855, at the age of 93. He served as chaplain for two years, but he didn’t really retire afterward; he continued preaching even beyond his 100th birthday, and he died in 1864, a little over a month before he would have turned 102. He was among the last living veterans of the American Revolution, and was one of the few to have been photographed, seen here shortly before his death:

The third, and current church building was built in 1840, on the foundations of the second building. There have been several additions behind and to the left of the building, in 1879 and 1958, but the main part of the building hasn’t changed much, aside from a different paint scheme, since the first photo was taken. The congregation is still active here after over 270 years, and they are part of the United Church of Christ denomination.

First Congregational Church, Suffield Connecticut

June 29, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The First Congregational Church in Suffield, probably taken around 1920. Image from Celebration of the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Settlement of Suffield, Connecticut (1921).

The church in 2015:

Suffield’s first church building was built around 1680, and went through a series of relatively short-lived buildings before the present-day one was completed on the west side of the town green in 1869. It has been used by the church ever since, with a few changes. The most obvious difference is the steeple; like many other churches in New England, the top of it was destroyed in the September 1938 hurricane, and it has not been replaced. The other major change isn’t obvious from this angle, but in 1956 a new wing was added to the church on the north (right) side, with classrooms, offices, and other spaces.

Union Church of Christ, Ludlow Mass

June 26, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The Union Church of Christ on Center Street in Ludlow, before 1904. Image from The History of Ludlow, Massachusetts (1912).

The church following its 1904-1905 renovation, photographed sometime between then and 1912. Image from The History of Ludlow, Massachusetts (1912).

The church in 2015:

When the town of Ludlow was established in he 1700s, the center of the town was located in what was approximately the geographic center of Ludlow, at the corner of present-day Church Street and Center Street. It was there that the first meetinghouse was built, and the location served as the religious and civic center of the town. However, with the start of the Industrial Revolution, the town’s economic center began to shift to the southwest, along the Chicopee River. The development of factories along this area, and the subsequent increase in population, meant that the workers needed a local church, and the owners of the Springfield Manufacturing Company decided to provide such a church.

The building was completed in 1845, and at first was used both by Congregationalists and Methodists. However, neither group stayed long – the Methodists built their own church in 1847, and a year later the Springfield Manufacturing Company went bankrupt. The Congregationalists disbanded, and the church was used only occasionally until 1867, when a new Congregational church formed.

As seen in the difference between the first two photos, the building was extensively remodeled in 1904-1905, with the addition of stained glass windows, a cupola, and a front porch, among other decorative elements to the exterior. Another change came in 1961, when a wing was added to the south (left) side of the building; it is partially visible behind the small tree on the left. Today, the building still looks very similar to its post-renovation appearance, and it continues to be an active United Church of Christ congregation.

First Church, Ludlow Mass

June 26, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The First Church of Ludlow, at the corner of Church and Center Streets, around 1912. Image from The History of Ludlow, Massachusetts (1912).

The church in 2015:

The building in the first photo was the third meeting house for the First Church of Ludlow. The first one stood right about where I took the second photo from, but was moved across Church Street in 1841, when the second church building was completed. This one didn’t last long, though – it burned in 1859, and was replaced later in the year with the one seen above. The third building stood for over 120 years, but it too burned, in a suspicious fire in 1980. It was rebuilt on the same spot in 1982, and today, like many other “First Churches” in New England, it is part of the United Church of Christ denomination.

First Meetinghouse, Ludlow Mass

June 25, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The First Meetinghouse building on Church Street in Ludlow, around 1912. Image from The History of Ludlow, Massachusetts (1912).

The building in 2015:

Built in 1783, this is one of the oldest church buildings in the Connecticut River Valley, although it hasn’t functioned as a church in over 170 years. It doesn’t look much like a church, but it actually hasn’t changed much in exterior appearance over the years. The white, steepled churches that we commonly associate with New England towns were not yet universally adopted in the late 1700s. Particularly in small towns, simple structures like this were still common, as seen in other places like Rockingham Vermont, where a similar-looking meeting house was built around the same time.

A steeple wasn’t the only thing that many of these early meeting houses lacked, though – another one was heat. Some, like the one in Rockingham, still don’t have heat over 225 years later. However, here in Ludlow a stove was finally installed in 1826. Fifteen years later, a new church was built, and the old one was sold to Increase Sikes for the princely sum of $50 and moved across Church Street to its present location; it had previously been in what is now the triangle of land between Church Street and Center Street. Sikes soon sold it back to the town, and it was used for town meetings until 1893, when the town offices were moved to the rapidly-growing industrial village along the Chicopee River in the southwest corner of town.

For many years, the building was used as a Grange Hall, until the town purchased it again in 2000. Since then, the building has been restored, and it forms an important part of the Ludlow Center Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.