First Baptist Church of Paris
First Baptist Church of Paris History
The church was originally organized on Nov 18, 1791 with 20 members. For twelve years the church meetings were held in a barn in summer and in private homes in the winter.
In April of 1803 a committee purchased a 4 acre parcel of land. Pews were sold to raise two thousand dollars. The church was built by Isaiah Fuller and was dedicated on the 30th of May 1804. The land upon which the church stands was deeded to the church building committee by Jonathan Cummings. The land was owned in common by the pew owners and is know as “The Common” to this day.
The bell in the tower is a Revere and Company bell listed in the Revere founder book as #252. It was cast July 25, 1821 for the Town of Paris. It weighs 906 pounds and cost $427.25. One-third was paid for by the county and two-thirds by subscribers. It was not cast by Paul Revere, but by his son Joseph Warren Revere. The old meetinghouse was used for town meetings as well as for religious purposes as was the custom of the time. The original building was made of immensely heavy timbers, but in the space of a single generation it became dilapidated and unfit for use.
The original building was razed and the current building was built by Mr. John Porter and was dedicated in 1838. It was constructed with a basement that was used for town business. There have been a few renovations to the church and sanctuary: in 1860 the style of the pews was changed and the pulpit lowered to a convenient platform. In 1864 a vestry was built in the rear of the church which can be accessed by a stairway and door at the right of the pulpit. In 1883, Hon. Hannibal Hamlin (vice president during Lincoln’s first term as president) presented the church with a fine clock. The tower had to be rebuilt to make room for the clock faces; it cost $172.75 with $20 from the county and the rest from 46 subscribers. It stuck for the first time on Nov 7, 1883. On June 4, 1893 the first baptism in the new Baptismal was conducted. 1900 the town turned over all interest in the church building to the church.
The First Baptist Church of Paris is included in the historic district of Paris Hill which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 6/19/1980.
