Central Baptist Church Fire News Coverage, 1888

 

The January 22, 1888 fire that gutted the Central Baptist Church was a devastating blow for the community. Middleborough Four Corners was initially developed by a group of Baptist activists who were responsible for establishing a commercial and industrial base there, and they also constructed Middleborough center's first church, the Central Baptist Church in 1828. Sixty years later the Middleboro News documented the disaster, clippings from which still survive.

Another View from Easter 1915

The intrepid photographer that ventured out to capture the scene of Center Street covered by snow on Easter Sunday (April 4), 1915, also took this photograph of Peirce Academy with the Central Baptist Church in the background. (Thatcher's Row is just out of the image to the left). The Middleborough Post Office now occupies the site of the Academy building which at the time housed the district court for Middleborough.

Central Baptist Church Christmas Sale and Play, 1931

Central Baptist Church Centennial, 1928

In 1928, the Central Baptist Church celebrated its 100th anniversary with a week of services, ceremonies and a youth rally. Accompanying the celebration of the landmark year was the following program which outlined the week and provided a brief historical background on the church.

Illustration:
"The One Hundreth Anniversary of the Central Baptist Church", Middleborough, MA, program, May, 1928

Central Baptist Church History

The following history of the Central Baptist Church of Middleborough was written by G. Ward Stetson in April, 1966, and furnished to Recollecting Nemasket through the courtesy of Evelyn R. Carver of Middleborough.

Major Levi Peirce the founder of Central Baptist Church and Peirce Academy was born in 1773. He was one of thirteen children, including Peter H. Peirce, born to Captain Job and Elizabeth Rounsville Peirce. His boyhood home was situated at the corner of Main and Stetson Streets in what is now Lakeville. Captain Job Peirce, a veteran of the French & Indian and the Revolutionary Wars, was a man of deep and abiding faith in God. He was seldom absent from his pew in the Meeting House. Each day he arose early in the morning, before his household was awake, for his own private half-hour of prayer. He led family devotions daily and by example and teachings, instilled the same faith and devotion to his Maker into the lives of his large family. This devoted belief in Christ and His salvation was the firm foundation upon which this church was constructed.

Levi's brother, Capt. Job Peirce Jr., inherited many of his father's fine qualities. An exceptionally fine business man, he conducted a store in Assonet Village, built sea going vessels and engaged in the West Indian trade. He died a young man and with Levi as administrator of his estate and wit his father to guide him, the resolve was reached to use some of the money to build Peirce Academy - completed in 1808. Here hundred of young men received their education during a period of seventy years. Here also Baptists held services on the second floor.

As a youngster, Levi served as clerk in the store of his brother-in-law, General Abiel Washburn at Muttock. When he became of age his father gave him $1000 to start a business in the old Morton House at the junction of Prospect and South Main Streets. His store was located on the first floor, with the family living on the second floor. Levi Peirce held many public offices of trust in the town and served his country as a Major in the War of 1812. In 1824, Levi and his wife Sally were baptised as members of the Fourth Calvanistic Church of Middleboro, - now Lakeville. He was made a deacon in 1826. They were dismissed to Central Baptist Church on August 10, 1828 where they continued through life.

Central Baptist is the fifth of this denomination to be organized within the bounds of the town as known in 1828. The first, Backus Memorial Church in North Middleboro was organized in 1756 with a possibility of earlier date through documents of 1749. While the Fourth Church (or Pond Meeting House) does not now exist, its life continued in this church, for eight of the original ten members were of that old church on the shores of Assawompsett Pond. The other two members came from the Third or Rock Church.

These ten constituent members forming Central Baptist Church with Levi Peirce as their leader, recognized the need of a new church building at the so-called "Lower Four Corners" - as the Academy rooms were inadequate for the growing congregation. They met on the evening of August 9, 1828 at the home of Levi Peirce on South Main Street, just east of this church's present location. Each related his Christian experiences and decided to form a new and distinct church. Here a declaration of purpose, articles of faith and the church covenant used today were adopted. Material provision had already been provided, with Levi Peirce as the donor, by the erection of a beautiful colonial type Meeting House in 1827, - built the same year as the First Congregational Church at the Green and with the same architect, Deacon James Sproat. The cost of the Meeting House as recorded in Major Levi Peirce's treasurers book was $4,575.55.

By 1834 it was necessary to add twenty feet to the length of the building and in 1851 it was raised seven feet, a new front was added and the steeple increased in height, at a cost of $3,000. On Sunday morning, January 22, 1888 just as Rev. William H. Bowen had completed his sermon and as Sunday School was in session, the beautiful colonial church was found to be on fire - the result of a defective chimney. Within a few hours the first church was utterly destroyed except for movable furniture and the organ, which suffered some water damage.

The second house of worship copied after an English Gothic church, of wood rather than stone, was erected at a cost of $24,000. The corner stone was laid May 6, 1889 and the dedication was on January 22, 1890 - just two years after the burning of the first church. William Rounsville Peirce, not a member of the church, but a regular attendant and member of the "Society", gave as his contribution to the community the "Town Clock", and the "sweet toned bell" that rang from the belfry.

A most difficult decision was reached in 1962. Because of the wear and tear of time, disintegration through dry rot and in a few instances questionable construction - experts advised church authorities that extensive repairs would be neither advisable nor practical.

With heavy hearts, for many cherished memories centered around that church building, the decision was made to demolish the structure and erect a brick colonial type edifice. Demolition started in August of 1963 and in September of the same year construction of the new church was begun. The firm of Broker, McKay & Associates, Inc. of Concord, New Hampshire was selected as the architects and DeLoid & Gomes, of Acushnet, Mass. as the general contractors. The weather assisted materially in the progress of work through the winter months, permitting the corner stone laying service to be held on Sunday, April 26, 1964 - "to the Glory of God."

The Services of Dedication were held on June 14, 17, 18, 19 and 21, 1964 with prominent ministers bringing messages appropriate for the occasion. Dr. Gordon C. Brownville, Pastor of Tremont Temple, Boston brought the sermon of Dedication on Sunday June 14, 1964. At the same time the ceremony of presenting the keys of the new church from the Architect and Builder to the officials of the church signified that the end of a long and prayerful endeavor was consummated. The building was completed at an approximate cost of $241,000.

It is of interest that during the period of demolition and construction, services were held in the Town Hall and the old Episcopal Parish house. The bell in the steeple now announcing the hours of day and night is the one which hung in the tower of the old Peirce Academy (built by Levi Peirce in 1808 and demolished in the 1930's for the Post Office) and summoned students to classes just a few feet from where it once again rings out its message.

Townsfolk aided generously by contributing toward the new "Town Clock" in the steeple. Two of the stained-glass window motifs from the former building add beauty and sentiment to the decor of the auditorium and narthex. Four antique chairs closely associated with the first and second churches have taken their rightful places in the auditorium and chapel.

In the 138 years of ministry the church has had but twenty Pastors, all of whom have contributed their rightful part to its success in bringing God's message to the people.

Rev. Avery Briggs, one who was instrumental in helping form the first church, was offered the first pastorate but declined to accept. In Levi Peirce's treasurers book Rev. A. Briggs was paid $40 in 1828 for "8 Sabbath preachings", which might indicate that he supplied as Pastor prior to Rev. Nicholas Medberry's acceptance as first Pastor. Rev. Medberry was paid the munificent sum of $475 per year as his salary and he received it but once a year. The story is told that in prayer meeting, while thinking f good Pastor Medberry, one worthy deacon prayed, "Lord, you keep him humble and we will keep him poor."

Much time could easily be devoted to the Pastorates of those who have served this church and community so fully and so well over the years. Looking backwards over these many years, it is known there have been many hundreds who found Christ within this fellowship of believers. Many of them went out into full time Christian service, as Pastors, as Missionaries and Christian workers - so their lives were not only saved in this place but because of their dedicated efforts countless others have found Christ as their personal Saviour.

Central Baptist is grateful for those who in recent years have taken their rightful places within the church family and are aiding in carrying out the hopes and desires of the founding fathers for a Gospel Witness here in Middleborough. During this period the most notable step forward in the church has been its spiritual growth. In a day of weakening standards, of winking at the Ten Commandments, of liberal religion, of shocking Court decisions, desecration of the Lord Day and of church apathy - we find Central Baptist still a lighthouse in the fog - remaining true to her trust as a Bible believing, Bible practicing church. This spiritual growth has not only resulted in increased membership but shows also by a recognized devotion to missions and missionary giving, in the sustained radio ministry, in more practicing tithers and by a growing interest in prayer meeting attendance.

It is sincerely believed that Central Baptist Church has carried out the wishes and desires of the founders and that Major Levi Peirce and his father Captain Job Peirce would approve the endeavors of the past and of the present. Because of the consecrated lives of these men back in 1828, the lives and careers of hundreds of men and women have been altered and saved - a glowing tribute to real Christian men of action. May this church lift high the banner of the Cross and faithfully continue preaching The Gospel - Gods' "good news of Salvation" - to all generations.

Pastors

Nicholas Medberry, 1828-1832

Hervey Fittz, 1832-1836

Ebenezer Nelson, 1837-1851

Jonathan Aldrich, 1851-1853

John B. Burke, 1854-1855

John F. Bigelow, D. D., 1856-1859

Alexander M. Averill, 1859-1862

Levi A. Abbott, D. D., 1863-1868

George G. Fairbanks, D. D., 1869-1883

William H. Bowen, D. D., 1884-1888

Millard F. Johnson, 1889-1898

J. Herbert Foshay, Jan. 1, 1899. Died March, 1899

Elmer E. Williams, 1899-1906

William D. Goble, 1907-1912

Charles Percy Christopher, 1912-1919

C. Raymond Chappell, 1919-1926

V. Broderick, 1927-1933

James L. Hynes, 1933-1945

George S. McNeill, 1946-1949

Paul J. West, 1950-

Illustration:

Central Baptist Church (1889), Nickerson Avenue, Middleborough, MA, photograph, early 20th century.

The second home of Middleborough's Central Baptist Church was this expressive English Gothic church built in 1888-89. The structure was one of the most widely photographed in town, appearing in numerous photographs and picture postcards. In 1963, the church was demolished and replaced with the present structure on Nickerson Avenue.

Source:
G. Ward Stetson. Central Baptist Church, Middleboro, Massachusetts: History. Unpublished manuscript, April, 1966.

Reverend Levi A. Abbott

Reverend Levi A. Abbott served as the pastor of the Central Baptist Church of Middleborough from 1863 through 1868 and "he and his wife were greatly beloved by their parishioners." As a Baptist, Abbott was not surprisingly a vocal advocate of temperance, and he frquently spoke to audiences on the topic. In 1868, he was elected to a seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from Middleborough. Though the results of the voting were contested and some local residents led by William N. Peirce opposed Abbott's election, the Baptist minister was finally seated and named to the house committee on the sale of alcohol. He later relocated to the Midwest where he passed away in 1919. Below is his obituary from the Alton Evening Telegraph of Alton, Illinois.

Rev. Levi A. Abbott, in his ninety-sixth year, entered into his eternal rest this morning at his home, 1608 Henry Street, after an illness of one week. The end came peacefully and members of his family say that while conscious to the last, he did not speak of the approaching change, but that he went out peacefully, quietly, just as he wished it could be. His death was no surprise to his close friends. They had feared that the sickness would prove fatal to the aged gentleman. He had been strong in body and mind for one of so great an age, but it was apparent for some time that he could not survive any serious sickness. His malady was similar to malaria, with fever on alternate days, but his friends thought it was just a wearing out of the old machine that had shown such lasting qualities as to cause all who knew Dr. Abbott to marvel. The funeral will be Sunday afternoon from his late home.

Dr. Abbott was a man who had rendered distinguished and lasting service to his fellow-man. For a man who, in boyhood, had very little chance to live because of a predisposition to tuberculosis, Dr. Abbott demonstrated the value of leading an outdoors life. Born at Beverly, Mass., April 19, 1824, he was left an orphan when a baby, and at the age of 14 left school. He became a member of the Baptist Church at the age of 15, and then he went to sea as cabin boy, and in twelve years he served on the sea, he became captain of his vessel. He educated himself, studying chiefly the Bible. He had been desirous of taking up the ministry from boyhood and he finally managed to get one year in the Worcester Academy. During the times he would be home from voyages he would take up the work of teaching and he was prevailed upon to take up the work of teacher in the school he had left at the age of 14. He was elected to the Massachusetts Legislature after entering the ministry, and he was a member of the celebrated War Legislature in Massachusetts. There he was associated with such men as George R. Hoar, Henry Dawes, N. P. Banks, Henry Wilson, and other men who became great in the country's history.

Dr. Abbott was ordained at Milford, Mass., in 1855, and was later pastor at Weymouth, Mass., and at Middleboro, Mass. After six and one half years at Middleboro, a trouble in his lungs forced him to leave that climate and he became pastor of the church at Rochester, Minn. With horse, gun, fishing tackle, and general open air work, in four years he got himself into better health. Later he served as pastor at LaCrosse, Wis., for seven years and then was called to the First Baptist Church at Alton, where he served for seventeen and one-half years. Then he served as a trustee, treasurer and comptroller of Shurtleff College for eighteen years. For many years he was a member of the Baptist State Board, and it was he who was entrusted with keeping the records of deaths of other Baptist pastors in the state.

One of the most remarkable facts about Dr. Abbott was the perfect preservation of his mental powers and his body. He was a frequent contributor to the Telegraph. He would write poems on patriotic occasions, and his poems at each of his last four or five birthday anniversaries were something for a man of his years to be proud of. He was a deeply religious man, possessed of a temper that made him beloved by all who knew him. It is a fact related by his friends and was admitted by Dr. Abbott, that he probably never uttered a prayer nor preached a sermon omitting some imagery of the sea. He used for his illustrations something about the sea, and he seemed at a loss to find anything that would so well fit into a discourse or a prayer as a figure of speech. He was one of the most ardent supporters of the Telegraph, and held this paper in the highest regard. As an illustration of his feeling for the paper he presented to the Telegraph one day a verse which, he said, he had read eighty years before, when a boy, in a newspaper office in the East. It was given a place of honor in the Telegraph, as he said that he believed it fitted this paper. It runs as follows: "Here shall the press, the people's rights maintain, Unawed by influence, unbribed by gain, And from the Truth our glorious precepts draw, Pledged to Religion, Liberty and Law." Dr. Abbott was one of the most regular visitors at the public library. He read much and he would come down town, even up to a few weeks ago, to get his regular allotment of the latest books. He kept up with every great movement, was conversant on all great questions. Few men are found entertaining, showed so much sprightliness, and such vigor of mind and body as he.

Dr. Abbott leaves his wife, Mrs. Mary Abbott, and three children: Augustus L. Abbott, Grace A. Blair, and Mary L. Epps.

Illustration:
Reverend and Mrs. Levi A. Abbott, photographic halftone, c. 1865

Source:
Alton Evening Telegraph, [Alton, Illinois], September 26, 1919

Central Baptist Church Fire, 1888

On Memorial Day, as fire gutted a large portion of the historic Central Congregational Church on South Main Street, onlookers stood watching in shock and disbelief while flames licked at the base of the steeple, threatening to consume the church which for so many held a deeply-rooted connection to the Town of Middleborough and its history. Despite the disturbing novelty of the scene, it was one which had been witnessed previously in Middleborough, over 120 years earlier when fire utterly destroyed the Central Baptist Church.

The original Central Baptist Church had been constructed on the site of the present building on Nickerson Avenue in 1828, the culmination of a long effort by local church leaders to establish their own church in the then burgeoning Four Corners area. The church, which replaced an earlier chapel used by the parish, was a symbol of the aspirations of the local Baptist community which had been so influential in the growth of Middleborough center.

Until 1847 when the Central Congregational Society was formed, the Central Baptist Church remained the sole church at Middleborough Center. Accordingly in those nearly twenty years, it established for itself a primacy of place within the lives of local residents, many of whom were members of the parish and all of whom, in time, would have a connection with the building. That connection came in 1847 when the identity of Four Corners residents was wedded to the church with the installation of a town clock in the church steeple, an action undertaken at the behest of the town which sought to use the church’s steeple as the highest structure then at Middleborough Center. Little appreciation, however, was probably given the clock until the bitterly cold afternoon of January 22, 1888, when the church was destroyed by fire, and the town clock with it.

Conflicting reports remain regarding who first noticed the fire which was later attributed to an overheated chimney. Mrs. Elisha T. Jenks, then inside the building with the Sunday School class, is said to have reported the fire after she saw smoke blowing past the window. Another report states that it was a different member of the class who smelled smoke and upon investigating discovered the blaze.

About 12.10 o'clock p. m., a member of the Sunday school smeled what he thought was burning wood, and went into the ante-room, where he saw a hole burned through the wall. He told others and in going up stairs the flame could be ssen through the ventilators in the ceiling where the chandeliers hung.

Still other reports indicate that it was actually Mark Merrick, an engineer at the H. L. Thatcher print shop directly opposite the church on Thatcher’s Row who noticed smoke rising not out of the chimney on the northwest corner of the building but from beside it which prompted him to run to the engine house on School Street to seek the assistance of the local firemen.

While the Sunday School was being immediately evacuated from the church, Merrick was apparently having some difficulty in convincing the firemen of the gravity of the situation and they are reported as having been “at first rather incredulous”. Nonetheless, the engine responded (though drawing it even the short distance was difficult given the snow which covered the ground) and with five and a half minutes a chemical stream was applied to the building and within ten minutes a stream of water.

Water was played upon the roof around the chimney, but by that time, the fire had spread the entire length of the building between the ceiling and the roof. Dense smoke and intense heat beat back firefighters who, unable to quench the flames focused on saving adjoining buildings, including the former Peirce Academy building and Thatcher’s print shop. Embers drifted as far as South Main Street, momentarily setting the roof of Charles Drake’s House (on the site of the Mayflower Bank) ablaze. Ice and freezing temperatures made the task of firemen particularly difficult and especially dangerous. One firefighter, Alonzo Norris, was injured "by the falling of a hose nozzle, cutting a severe scalp wound, but no serious results are apprehended. A few days of confinement will probably bring him around all right. One or two others were somewhat bruised but not seriously."

Disregarding the temperature, crowds gathered along Center Street and in the rear of the Town Hall to observe the destruction of the church with the most dramatic moment being the crashing in of the 128 foot high steeple, weighted with both bell and town clock.

“The bell in falling lodged upon the gallery floor, immediately over a solid post and lies there, broken, and partially melted. The clock in its fall is almost wholly lost sight of in the mass of debris, but few traces of it having yet been found…. The hands of the clock stopped at 12.35.”

Later, the local fire department would come into some criticism for their conduct of operations at the scene of the fire. While the exact nature of the complaints lodged against the firefighters has not been left on record, a spirited rebuttal to the criticism has.

MR. EDITOR: - In your edition of Monday, 23d, it was quoted from good authority that it was full thirty minutes before a stream of water was put on to the fire. Now that is a base falsehood. From the time the alarm was sounded to getting a chemical stream on was 5 1-2 minutes and a water stream on in 10 minutes. These are the facts that can be proven if required. The church inside the walls was a mass of flames before the alarm was given and before the Sunday school was dismissed. The fire must have been burning for hours. The firemen worked with a will and tried every possible plan inside and out to stop the flames. With the thermometer at zero and men, hose and ladders covered with ice it was a dangerous and difficult task. People may stand and look at a building on fire and suggest some plan to put the fire out, but let them attempt the task and they will not do any better if as well as others have done. The firemen deserve great credit for the manner in which they handled this fire. We can justly say "thy will be done," not mine.

JUSTICE.

The loss of their church was devastating for the closely knit members of the society. More broadly, the 1888 loss of the Central Baptist Church and with it the town clock which it housed, was a psychological blow for the Four Corners community, so accustomed had the become to the presence of the town clock in their lives, its bell tolling the hours day in and day out. “The ‘town clock’ was a familiar feature, which shall be sadly missed. Many eyes have unconsciously sought its accustomed place for the time today, but alas, no intelligence could be gained.”

Efforts were undertaken immediately to secure new accommodations for the congregation, as well as to consider the next steps forward:

A meeting of the [Central Baptist] society will be called at once to consider what course to adopt. There is little doubt that the church will be rebuilt, and probably upon the same spot.

We understand that offers of accommodations for meeting have been given by both the [Central] Congregational and [Central] Methodist societies.

The offer of fellowship, however, was gratefully declined and, instead, a chapel was established in the former Peirce Academy building which stood adjoining the ruins of the church. "Work has already commenced in getting ready the lower story of the Academy building for holding church services. All the settees, the cushions and hymn books were saved, and this can be made quite comfortable for a temporary place of meeting." Nonetheless,

at the meeting Monday evening of the Baptist church committee and the prudential committee of the society, an appreciative vote of thanks was extended to the Congregational and Methodist churches for their kind invitations to worship with them while the baptists were deprived of a house of worship. Below is a copy of the circular which is sent out by these two committee to the members of the church and congregation and those who are interested in the question of rebuilding.

"Dear Friend: The ruins of our church home, with touching eloquence, now plead with us to remember the work and sacred influences for which it stood so long, and the silent tongue of the bell call us to speak...."
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Illustrations:

Central Baptist Church Fire, January 22, 1888, photograph

Perhaps the earliest photograph of a building fire at Middleborough, this view depicts the crowd that has assembled in the rear of Middleborough Town Hall to witness the destruction of the Central Baptist Church on Sunday, January 22, 1888, just after noon. The loss of the church and the town clock it housed was a devastating blow for the community. "...The photograph itself was taken by Fletcher L. Barrows, who made three or four good negatives of different stages of the fire. One of them shows the steeple as it fell and the set make a fair start toward a motion picture of the event. Amateur photography was then in its infancy and the results even today [1924] may be called good. Another unique result of the fire was the fact that sfter the flames were through with their work, the organ could be played to some extent. The progress of the fire was from the rear of the church or organ loft toward the steeple which acted as a chimney for draft" [Middleboro Gazette, "ye NB colyum", May 2, 1924, p. 1].

Central Baptist Church, detail stereocard, John Shaw, Middleborough, publisher, mid-1880s

The view depicts the Central Baptist Church a short time before the 1888 fire.

Middleboro News, undated newspaper clipping, January, 1888

Both the Middleboro News and its friendly rival, the Middleboro Gazette, would have devoted extensive coverage to the fire, though only this clipping from the News appears to have survived.

Central Baptist Church ruins, newspaper cut, unidentified Boston newspaper

This illustration from an unidentified Boston newspaper at the time of the fire depicts the remains of the Central Baptist Church which was entirely destroyed.

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Sources:

Middleboro Gazette

Middleboro News

Old Colony Memorial [Plymouth]

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Updated July 15, 2009 at 9:56 PM