First Freewill Baptist Church (East Alton, New Hampshire) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
First Freewill Baptist Church
|
|
 |
|
 Location in New Hampshire
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | Drew Hill Rd., East Alton, New Hampshire |
|---|---|
| Area | 0.3 acres (0.12 ha) |
| Built | 1826 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 78000209 |
| Added to NRHP | August 2, 1978 |
The First Freewill Baptist Church is a very old and special building in East Alton, New Hampshire. It was built way back in 1826. This church is important because it still looks much like it did in 1847, showing us what churches were like a long time ago. It's even listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which means it's a historic landmark worth protecting.
Contents
About This Historic Church
The First Freewill Baptist Church is found in a quiet, rural area in the middle of Alton. It sits on the east side of Drew Hill Road.
What the Church Looks Like
This church is a one-story building made of wood. It has a roof that slopes down on two sides, called a gabled roof. The outside walls are covered with wooden boards called clapboards. The building rests on a strong stone foundation.
The church has a special style called Greek Revival. This means it looks a bit like ancient Greek temples. You can see this in the flat, column-like shapes on the corners, called pilasters. There's also a decorative band above them, known as an entablature. These same features are on the first part of the bell tower, which holds the church's original bell.
Inside the Church
When you go inside, you'll see many things that are still original. There are old gas light fixtures on the walls. The lower part of the walls has a wooden covering called wainscoting. This wainscoting ends with a simple wooden strip called a chair rail.
At the back of the main room, there's a simple pulpit, which is where the speaker stands. Most of the room is filled with long wooden benches called pews. The doors on these pews were taken off around 1847.
The Church's History
The church was used regularly until about 1860. After that, many people who went to this church started going to a different Baptist church in the newer town center. This old area became less important, especially after a railroad arrived in Alton Bay in 1885, which bypassed the original town center.
In 1920, a group of people from the community formed an organization to help take care of the building. Today, the First Freewill Baptist Church is one of the few buildings left from Alton's original town center. It helps us remember what the area was like long ago.
See Also
