Addison Baptist Church
a.k.a. Addison Community Baptist Church
jct. of VT 22A and VT 17, Addison, VTThe Addison Baptist Church is among the older Baptist Churches in Vermont, organized on October 25, 1797. By the second decade of the nineteenth century, the congregation grew to the extent that on December 14, 1811, it was, "voted to meet on Friday evening next in an extra Church meeting to consult on matters relative to building a meetinghouse and forming some system to carry it into effect." It was not until 1816 that the meeting house was built on a hill overlooking the village of Addison Four Corners.
The Church's early history is not atypical of Nineteenth century Vermont congregation. The early congregation opposed the Masons, expelling one William Whitford in 1816, for "his ungospel arguments to justify and support himself in the practice of meeting with his Masonic bretheren."
By 1842, Freemasonry was less of an issue, and the congregation was concerning itself with the political and moral issue of slavery. The Church records contain the following resolution on the subject for the year 1842: "Where slavery is contrary to the letter and spirit of the Gospel and consequently a sin against God, therefore, resolved that we will not hold in Church fellowship slave holding Churches or any brother or sisters who is a member of such until they have given evidence of reformation."
While the congregation was enunciating its social and political attitudes, the building itself was undergoing change. In 1849, considerable alterations were made to both the interior and exterior of the Church, resulting in a Greek Revival style. It was at this time that the side gallaries were removed and the vestry installed on the ground floor.
Later improvements to the Church consisted primarily of technological modernizations in heating and lighting, having no effect on the building's architectural integrity. The last structural improvement was the addition of the rear ell, added in 1962.
The growth and evolution of the Addison Baptist Church is a reflection of that of the Town of Addison. Located adjacent to the Town Hall, overlooking the village, the Church is an ever-present testimony of the history of this small Vermont Township.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.