History
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Sanctuary |
In 1776 John Adams of Braintree, Massachusetts (now Quincy) signed the Declaration of Independence and a new nation was born. That same year 20 miles southwest of the future President's home 29 members read, voted articles of faith and became The First Baptist Church of Medfield.
Although by 1805 the church only had 12 members the church over the years survived, founded a church school and grew until 1822 when it became necessary for the congregation to expanded their Meeting House to twice its size.
Of course there was much rejoicing in 1825 when the church acquired their newest luxury, a heating stove (and school classes could be held in cold months).
In 1838 the old Meeting House was sold and the church bought land at the corner of South and Main Streets (a.k.a. Route 109), site of the present church structure. The new Meeting House was dedicated on October 3rd of that same year.
In 1874 the Meeting House was remodeled and refurnished for the Celebration of the Centennial in 1876. Four years later a new parsonage was built on East Main Street, but was subsequently sold a year later and the current parsonage located on South Street was built.
In 1907 W.S. Tilden, the Music Director of the Church for over 50 years and a Town Historian published History of the First Baptist Church.
In the 1920's the church faced adversity when in 1926 a fire in the parsonage damaged the roof and the following year a fire occurred in the Meeting House, which took five weeks to repair.
By the mid to late 1950s the church enjoyed a growth spurt with up to a half of its members being new.
In 1962 the church newsletter entitled The Messenger was founded and is still being published today.
In 1968 it was decided that a new Educational Wing should be added to the existing Church building and after the usual construction pitfalls (overruns and such) the new wing was completed and dedicated in 1971.
Between 1983 and 1990 major renovations were made to the Church building and parsonage and total refurbishment of the pipe organ was completed.
In 1991 three members of the church traveled to La Romana in the Dominican Republic to work on Baptist Hospital construction work week.
On September 11, 2003 the Church was added to the National Register of Historical Places.
The Earl Smith Memorial Walkway and landscaping, making the church handicap accessible was completed in 2004.
In 2006 the renovation of the Church kitchen was completed.