First Baptist Church of Sutton | |
 Front 2010 | |
   | |
| Location | Sutton, MA |
|---|---|
| Nearest city | Worcester, MA |
| Coordinates | 42°7′2″N 71°48′11″W / 42.11722°N 71.80306°W |
| Built | 1829 (1959 Hall) |
| Architect | Samuel Waters (Sanctuary) & Rae Johnson (Hall) |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| Part of | West Sutton Historic District |
| NRHP reference No. | 01000871 [1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | August 8, 2001 |
| Designated NHLDCP | August 8, 2001 |
First Baptist Church of Sutton is a Baptist church in the town of Sutton, Massachusetts and was founded on September 9, 1735, by the Reverend Benjamin Marsh one of the founding fathers of the town and Thomas Green. It is the fourth oldest Baptist church in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.[2] The First Baptist Church of Sutton was organized, in 1735. With the exception of a ten-year period of being inactive, in the war years from 1775 to 1785, there have been almost steady services of worship and activities carried on by the men and women of this church. The first structure (1750) was located just down the road where Sutton High School is now, the second (1792) was built on where the current police and fire departments are, and third structure was built on what is now Central Turnpike in 1829 and is part of the West Sutton Historic District[3] with the Fellowship Hall added in 1959. The sanctuary building is in the Greek Revival style of the time.[4] The church is tied to many of the historic families that have and still call Sutton home. Among the names we read the names of Putnam, Buard, Waters, Davis, Freeland, Brigham, King, Marble, Titus, Rich, Dana, Merriam, Lamb, Sibley, Shaw, Moore, Burdon, Luther, Whittier, Plummer, Wallace, Leonard. First Baptist Church is part of the North American Missions Board Revitalize and Replant effort in New England stopping the 17 churches that close every week in America.[5][6] Through the years the church has been also known through the town and region as Legacy Church, First Baptist Sutton, West Sutton Baptist Church, Sutton Baptist Church, Baptist Meetinghouse, and its original founding name by Rev. Marsh, The Frontier Church.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ "Sutton Massachusetts Genealogy and History Homepage - Baptist Churches". www.suttonmass.org. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- ^ "MACRIS Details". Massachusetts Historical Commission. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- ^ "NPS.gov Homepage (U.S. National Park Service)". npgallery.nps.gov. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- ^ "What Is Replanting? - NAMB". NAMB. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
- ^ "Pray for First Baptist Church of Sutton - ThomRainer.com". ThomRainer.com. June 11, 2017. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.