Hartford Baptist Church facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hartford Baptist Church |
|
|---|---|
West elevation and south profile,
with cemetery in foreground, 2009 |
|
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Baptist |
| Year consecrated | 1891 |
| Location | |
| Location | Hartford, NY, USA |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Benjamin D. Price |
| Architectural style | Victorian Gothic |
| General contractor | A.M. Wilson |
| Groundbreaking | 1890 |
| Completed | 1891 |
| Construction cost | $9,000 |
| Specifications | |
| Direction of façade | west |
| Capacity | 300 |
| Length | 56 feet (17 m) |
| Width | 77 feet (23 m) |
| Width (nave) | 40 feet (12 m) |
| Height (max) | 85 feet (26 m) |
| Spire(s) | 2 |
| Spire height | 40 feet (12 m) |
| Materials | Stone, brick, wood, slate |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| Added to NRHP | 2004 |
| NRHP Reference no. | 04000875 |
The Hartford Baptist Church is a historic church in Hartford, New York. It was built in 1891 and is made of brick. This church stands on the same spot where the first church building was put up in 1789. It's the fourth church building for this group of people.
The church was designed by Benjamin Price, an architect from Philadelphia. It's special because it's the only church in Hartford built in the Victorian Gothic style. Next to the church is a cemetery with graves that are almost 200 years old. You can find the graves of early Hartford settlers and even some soldiers from the American Revolutionary War.
The church members were very active in important social causes during the 1800s. They spoke out against secret societies and strongly supported ending slavery. They even helped local soldiers join the Union Army during the American Civil War. Later, their third church building was damaged by fire because they supported laws against alcohol. In 2004, the church and its cemetery were added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means they are important historical sites.
Contents
Exploring the Church Grounds
The Hartford Baptist Church and its cemetery are located on a large piece of land. It's about 4.4 acres (1.8 hectares) big. The church stands on the east side of Main Street in Hartford. A small group of trees separates the church from nearby houses. The land gently slopes down towards the east.
The Church Building
The church building has two main parts that cross each other, forming its shape. The church sits on a strong foundation made of stone. The walls are covered with brick, and the roof is made of slate tiles. The roof is about 50 feet (15 meters) high.
There are two bell towers on the front of the church. The taller tower on the south side reaches 85 feet (26 meters) high. It has a weathervane on top and holds a large bell that weighs 908 pounds (412 kg). All the windows are tall and narrow, called lancet windows. They have decorative stone or wood patterns around them.
You can enter the church through the two towers or the main entrance in the middle. Inside, the main worship area is called the sanctuary. It's about 33 by 48 feet (10 by 15 meters). The pews, which are the long seats, are still the original ones. They are made of white oak wood with black cherry trim. They face north, not east, which is a style often seen in old New England churches. The seats are arranged in a half-circle, and the floor gently rises so that people in the back can see better.
The wooden decorations inside the church are in a style called Eastlake. However, the pulpit, where the minister speaks, looks more like Renaissance Revival style. It's made of walnut wood and has fancy carvings. Behind the pulpit is a large arch. Behind that arch is the baptistery, which is a pool used for baptisms. It has a brick pool that goes down to the basement floor.
The walls inside the church are made of a type of plaster. The window frames and doors are made of wood. The ceiling is 29 feet (8.8 meters) high and has wooden panels.
The back part of the church used to be a "lesson room." Now, it's a kitchen and a meeting room. There's also a wheelchair ramp for easy access.
The Cemetery
The oldest known burial in the cemetery was in 1792. It was for Abraham Downs, an early settler of Hartford. The land was called a "burying ground" even back then, so there might have been even earlier burials. Many important people are buried here, including 19 men who fought in the American Revolutionary War. One of them was Colonel John Buck, who was one of the first European settlers in Hartford. He fought under George Washington and survived the tough winter at Valley Forge.
Another Revolutionary War veteran buried here is Reverend Amasa Brown, who was the first pastor of the church. The last burial in the cemetery happened in 1989. After that, it was closed for new burials to help with its upkeep. Besides the Revolutionary War, veterans from the French and Indian War, American Civil War, World War I, and World War II are also buried here.
The gravestones show how art changed over time. There's also a special burial mound for Civil War veterans. This mound was created in one day in 1879. The townspeople wanted to honor their war dead, but they didn't have money for a big monument, so they built the mound instead.
Church History
The Hartford Baptist Church has had four different buildings and two name changes over its history. In the 1800s, the church was involved in big national issues, like the debate over slavery.
Early Years (1787–1850)
The church group started in 1787 as the Westfield Baptist Society. Westfield was the original name for the area that includes Hartford and Fort Ann today. Many settlers came from Connecticut after the Revolutionary War. They brought their Baptist faith with them. The first church services were held in a farmhouse.
In 1789, the first church building was a log cabin. It was called the First Church of Westfield. When the town of Hartford was created in 1793, the church changed its name too.
DeWitt Clinton, who later became a New York State Senator, owned a lot of land in the area. In 1798, he gave two acres of land to the church for just one cent. This land was for the church and a burial ground.
Reverend Amasa Brown was the church's pastor. Under his leadership, the church grew a lot. A new church was built in 1805, and then an even bigger one in 1815–16 that could hold 700 people. Reverend Brown was a veteran of the Revolution and served as a chaplain in the War of 1812. He was buried in the churchyard when he died in 1830.
In the 1830s, there were disagreements in the church about social issues. Some members left and started a second church in 1833. But ten years later, the two churches reunited. The second church building was sold to the Methodist Episcopal group. The reunited church then focused on other issues. In 1850, they passed a rule saying they would not have a minister who owned slaves. They also said slave owners were not welcome to take communion with them.
Later Years (1850–Present)
When the American Civil War began, the church strongly supported the Union side. They held meetings where people spoke out against slavery. Many young men from the town joined the army after these meetings. After four such rallies, 65 young men from Hartford joined the Union Army. They made farewell speeches at the church before leaving.
After the war, in 1870, the church decided to make the building bigger. They added space to hold up to a thousand people. However, disagreements about a new baptistery caused another split in the church, but it didn't last long.
In the late 1800s, the temperance movement, which wanted to ban alcohol, became very strong. In 1887, Hartford became a "dry town," meaning alcohol sales were illegal. Some women from the church started a local group of the Women's Christian Temperance Union. The church itself was divided on the issue. In the spring of 1890, the church building was burned down. A local newspaper said the fire was set by someone angry about the laws against alcohol.
Many things from inside the church, like the pulpit and church records, were saved. But the church didn't have fire insurance. The whole community of Hartford worked together to raise money to rebuild. A businessman from Troy, New York, named William Rowe, who was from Hartford, gave a lot of money. He probably helped get architect Benjamin Price involved.
They raised enough money to pay the entire $9,000 cost of rebuilding. Another helper, James Northup, a wealthy potato farmer, gave another thousand dollars and a new bell in 1892.
The new church was smaller than the one that burned down. It could seat fewer people because the town's population was getting smaller. The only major changes since then were a fire that burned the original parsonage (the minister's house) in 1922 and the removal of sheds in 1955. By the 2000s, a new minister and church leaders began working to preserve and strengthen the church.
See also
