First Baptist Church (Charleston, New York)
Encyclopedia
First Baptist Church is a historic Baptist
church on Polin Road in Charleston
, Montgomery County, New York
. It is believed to have been built in the 1820s and remodeled during the 1860s. It is a rural vernacular wood-frame church executed in the late Federal
/ early Greek Revival
style. The -story, heavy timber-framed structure features a square, hip-roofed bell tower
. Also on the property are a cemetery
, dry-laid stone wall, and receiving vault
. The majority of the burials date to the early 19th century, since the church had been organized about 1793. The Charleston Historical Society acquired the property in 1978.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1994.
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
church on Polin Road in Charleston
Charleston, New York
Charleston is a town in Montgomery County, New York, United States. The population was 1,373 at the 2010 census.The Town of Charleston is on the south border of the county and is southwest of the City of Amsterdam....
, Montgomery County, New York
Montgomery County, New York
As of the census of 2000, there were 49,708 people, 20,038 households, and 13,104 families residing in the county. The population density was 123 people per square mile . There were 22,522 housing units at an average density of 56 per square mile...
. It is believed to have been built in the 1820s and remodeled during the 1860s. It is a rural vernacular wood-frame church executed in the late Federal
Federal architecture
Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federal Period. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design...
/ early Greek Revival
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
style. The -story, heavy timber-framed structure features a square, hip-roofed bell tower
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
. Also on the property are a cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
, dry-laid stone wall, and receiving vault
Receiving vault
A receiving vault is typically an underground crypt or above-ground building built within a cemetery, with the purpose of storing the bodies of deceased persons in winter months when the ground is too frozen to dig a permanent grave...
. The majority of the burials date to the early 19th century, since the church had been organized about 1793. The Charleston Historical Society acquired the property in 1978.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1994.
External links
- Baptist Church, State Route 148, Charleston, Montgomery, NY: 1 photo, 2 data pages, and supplemental materials at Historic American Building Survey