In 1802, 34 people no longer willing to continue traveling 8 miles to worship in a neighboring town founded the United Baptist Church on the village green. Builder Elisha Scott of Connecticut designed a Federal-style church for the congregation in 1805, employing local builders and using locally sourced lumber. Scott’s design was inspired by an illustration from Asher Benjamin’s “A Country Builder’s Assistant,” with a monumental entrance pavilion and attached Wren-type steeple. Upon the completion of construction, the church also served as a meeting house for freeman’s groups in the area and as a school. United Baptist Church bore witness to many important events on the village green, including military trainings, the apprenticeships of Horace Greeley and George Jones at a nearby printing press, and social gatherings.

Relative to the congregation’s size, United Baptist Church has an enormous impact on its local community. Parishioners organize backpacks of school supplies for low-income families, host summer concerts and community meals, distribute food through the Community Food Buying Club, and hold civic functions in collaboration with other nonprofits such as the Poultney Historical Society and the Horace Greeley Foundation.

A National Fund grant of $100,000 with over $200,000 in matching funds raised by the congregation allowed United Baptist Church to refurbish and weatherproof the building envelope. The project rid the building of rotted historic woodwork, which had developed from ongoing water damage. The entire building was repainted, and all windows were sealed and restored. According to the congregation, National Fund-supported work has “increased community involvement and excitement in using this community building as a gathering space.” The fundraising skills United Baptist Church developed in this program will help the congregation complete additional projects to repair the roof and replace the chair lift in the sanctuary.

James R. Tanis Collection of Church Postcards