First Baptist Church of Gilmanton

Erected in 1842 to replace an earlier meetinghouse, the First Baptist Church of Gilmanton is indisputably the finest Greek Revival ecclesiastical building in Belknap County and one of the most outstanding in New Hampshire. Due to compelling similarities and documentary evidence, historians have concluded that it was modeled on the Northwood Congregational Church (see RO9), built two years prior. The First Baptist Church possesses an extremely well-preserved exterior that only slightly differs, save for minor details such as the louvers and front landing, from its appearance at the time of its dedication. As the interior was thoroughly remodeled in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the building’s architectural importance rests primarily on its fine exterior, particularly the southwest-facing gable facade and the three-stage square bell tower atop the pitched roof. The symmetrical main block is ornamented by a wide, flat cornice with architrave and frieze. The temple-form facade is distinguished by its matching, heavily molded entrance doors; large, central, 16-over-16 double-sash window; and four pilasters with capitals supporting a closed, pedimented gable. In the upper belfry stage, the tower is decorated with pairs of flat pilasters on either side of the louvered belfry apertures. An unusual projecting cornice with a small ornamentation endows the church with unusual grace and dignity, and a commanding presence. Also on the property is a one-story, wooden horseshed raised in the 1880s. It is the best-preserved example of this rare building type in Belknap County.