Mariposa Museum & World Culture Center, Peterborough NH

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Baptist Church Building - A Place Community
by Ellen Derby, Peterborough Historical Society

Historic photograph of The Old Baptist Church,
courtesy of the Peterborough Historical Society

The story of the Baptist Church Building begins in 1822 with people seeking a spiritual identity that they could claim as their own. Fifteen people joined to form a Baptist congregation. They first met at the schoolhouse on High Street, now the home of Judy Nichols. Next they built a structure approximately at 28 High Street. This building was burned in 1875 while it was being used as an apartment house. The congregation grew as their doctrine appealed to the growing number of mill workers in the community who saw the Baptist congregation as more egalitarian and less rooted in the old established families of the town.

When the congregation reached 100, the decision was made to relocate to the village center to be closer to its membership base that had no means of transportation except by foot. The lower level of the building was designed to be commercial rental space and was completed first in 1841. The rental income enabled this working class congregation to build the upper level sanctuary, which was completed and dedicated in 1842. The Church flourished and was particularly successful in its Sunday school, which numbered over 100. The Church provided leadership in the temperance movement and the abolitionist movement.

The makeup of the mill workers began to change as immigrant workers began to outnumber the New England workers. The immigrants had their own faith community, which was rooted in the Catholicism of their Old World homelands. The new mill workers did not seek out the Baptist congregation so by 1926 the congregation had become too small to maintain a pastor or services. The members worshiped elsewhere, primarily with the Methodist congregation. Some of the records of the Baptist Church are kept at the Peterborough Historical Society.

The Building continued on as an important retail space for the village. It provided easy shopping for the scores of mill workers who lived and worked in the village center. Through the years the building housed businesses such as a harness shop, barber shop, shoe store, dress store and electronics store. In 1952, Henry Lord donated funds to fix up the upper floor for a center for Boy and Girl Scouts. This upper floor space later housed an art gallery and Ray Lyn ballet school. Ted Leach used the upper space for the Monadnock Ledger. In 1986 Ted sold the newspaper but kept the building, which he lovingly transformed into the New England Marionette Theater.

The fire of January 1, 1999 destroyed the Marionette Theater but the building still stood. With the direction of Downtown 2000 and the support of the community the building was saved from demolition. It now stands waiting to provide yet again a space where we can grow, learn and share things that make us a community. Whether you come to Mariposa to participate, shop or just observe you will meet people. It doesn't matter if they are newcomers or old timers because they are our community.

For further information about the renovation, please visit: Weller&Michal Architects, Inc.

When children are raised with respect and curiosity towards
other cultures, the world will know more peace and less war.