North Yarmouth and Freeport Baptist Meetinghouse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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North Yarmouth and Freeport Baptist Meetinghouse
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The meetinghouse in 2022
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 Location in Maine
Location in the United States
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| Location | 3 Hillside St., Yarmouth, Maine |
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| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1796 |
| Architect | Capt. Samuel Melcher Anthony Raymond |
| Architectural style | Colonial, Federal, Gothic and Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 78000174 |
| Added to NRHP | November 20, 1978 |
The North Yarmouth and Freeport Baptist Meetinghouse is a very old and special building in Yarmouth, Maine. People also call it the Old Baptist Meeting House. It was built way back in 1796! This makes it probably the oldest church building in Maine that was made for a Baptist group.
Over the years, the building was changed a couple of times in the 1800s. Today, the town of Yarmouth owns it. A local non-profit group helps take care of this important piece of history.
What Does It Look Like?
The North Yarmouth and Freeport Baptist Meetinghouse stands on Hillside Street in Yarmouth. It is a tall building made of wood. It has a pointed roof and its sides are covered with overlapping wooden boards called clapboard.
The front of the building has five sections. The middle three sections stick out a bit and have a small gable (a triangular part of the wall) at the top. From this middle section, a tall church tower rises into the sky.
The front also has three doors. The two outer doors have cool, pointed windows above them. The middle door has decorative pillars on its sides and a fancy frame above it. The windows on the front are tall and pointed, while the windows on the sides are rectangular.
The tower has a square bottom part. Above that is an eight-sided section where the church bell would be. This part is open, letting the sound of the bell ring out. On top of the tower is a pointed, cone-shaped spire.
A Look at Its History
The church building was first built in 1796. It was made for the local Baptist community. Reverend Thomas Green was one of the first seven members, and he became the first pastor.
In 1889, the Baptist group moved to a new church building. The next year, a couple named George W. Hammond and Ellen Hammond bought the old meetinghouse. They opened it as the Hillside Library and Antiquarian Society. This means it was a place for books and old, interesting items.
In 1910, the Hammonds gave the building to the town of Yarmouth. The town used it for important town meetings until 1946. During World War II, the building had a special job. It was used by the Civilian Defense System as a lookout spot. People would watch from there for any enemy aircraft.
After the war, in 1946, a group called the Village Improvement Society started taking care of the inside of the building. The meetinghouse was recognized as a very important historical place in 1978. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Major repairs and updates happened in the early 2000s. Today, the building is still used for special events, like weddings.
Old Baptist Cemetery
Right next to the meetinghouse, on its south side, is the Old Baptist Cemetery. This is a historic burial ground. As you go through the gate, you'll see some unique gravestones. There's a special group of three gravestones that look like a billboard. This type of gravestone is very rare, with only about forty known to exist in all of Maine.
See also
