Photo courtesy State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission
TIVERTON, R.I. -- An example of mid 19th-century rural church, the Old Stone Church, also known as Tiverton's First Baptist Church, stands out "for its masonry construction and relatively rare floor plan."
Dedicated in 1841 and associated with one of the country's oldest Baptist congregations, the church and related buildings and cemetery have been added to the National Register of Historic Places as an example of the "history and evolution" of the Baptist denomination in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
"The historic church is a fine example of Greek Revival architecture, and it symbolizes Rhode Island's heritage of religious diversity," Edward Sanderson, executive director of the state Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission, said in a release announcing the federal historic designation, a largely honorary distinction that makes the property eligible for tax benefits and historic rehabilitation projects but carries no regulations.
The congregation was established circa 1680 by John Cooke, who had come to the colonies as a teenager on the Mayflower and had been expelled from the Pilgrim church in Plymouth "for the error of Anabaptistry," according to the filing with the U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service. It was established on about 34 acres of land donated by member Job Almy on what was then "the fringes of Plymouth Colony, where Baptists experienced a relative degree of toleration."
Built at a cost of $2,300, the east-facing, front-gable, one-story rectangular building has a timber frame and rubblestone exterior walls covered with stucco. Originally, the application notes, the walls were scored to imitate ashlar. The belfry houses a bell cast by Revere & Sons in 1822, possibly for the congregation's first church, the application indicates.
As the congregation grew, additions were built and facilities added. Clam bakes were held, and in later years, an auction and bazaar, "which at times featured livestock, demonstrations and an antique auction that was frequented by local dealers," according to the church's history.
The property includes a parsonage (1884-85), parish house (ca. 1879) and cemetery.