Correspondence of the First Baptist Church of Groton

Archive

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Groton Public Library

Name/Title

Correspondence of the First Baptist Church of Groton

Entry/Object ID

2026.001.003

Scope and Content

Collection of correspondence from/to the First Baptist Church of Groton, 1821-1974. Folder 1 - Correspondence regarding Pastorate of the Church, 1883-1899 Folder 2 - Correspondence, 1821-1847 Folder 3 - Correspondence re. the controversy between the 1st and 2nd Baptist Church of Groton, 1833-1835 Folder 4 - Correspondence, 1860-1869 Folder 5 - Correspondence, 1870-1879 Folder 6 - Correspondence, 1880-1889 Folder 7 - Correspondence, 1890-1899 Folder 8 - Correspondence, 1900-1909 Folder 9 - Correspondence (Charles Q. Eldredge), 1938 Folder 10 - Correspondence, 1923, 1935 and 1966-1974 Folder 11 - Correspondence re. 5th Church, 1959-1967

Collection

First Baptist Church of Groton Collection

Acquisition

Accession

2026.001

Source or Donor

First Baptist Church of Groton

Acquisition Method

Gift

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Correspondence

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Other Documents

Nomenclature Class

Documentary Objects

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Search Terms

First Baptist Church of Groton, Old Mystic Baptist Church, Groton Bank Baptist Church, Union Baptist Church

Archive Details

Creator

Old Mystic Baptist Church, First Baptist Church of Groton

Date(s) of Creation

1821 - 1974

Archive Size/Extent

11 Folders

Archive Notes

Date(s) Created: 1821-1974

Provenance

Notes

Admin or Biographical History: The First Baptist Church of Groton was the first Baptist church to be established in the State of Connecticut. On October 5, 1704, twelve residents of Groton (then a part of New London) petitioned the General Assembly for the right to separate from the Congregational Church and establish a meeting house for the Baptist faith. These twelve dissenters were Sergeant William Stark, John Culver, Isaac Lamb, Ephraim Culver, William Chubb, John Hammett, Mercy Culver, Elizabeth Lamb, Elizabeth Stark, Mary Hadgell, Margaret Chubb and Sarah Culver. Although this petition was ignored, the dissenters established the church in 1705 and invited Rev. Valentine Wightman to serve as their pastor. Three generations of Wightmans would serve as pastors for the church for a cumulative 125 years: Valentine Wightman (1705-1747), Timothy Wightman (1754-1796) and John Gano Wightman (1800-1841). The first church building was constructed in 1718 on the lands of William Stark, near the present intersection of Cold Spring and Yetter Roads in Mystic. This building stood until 1790, when it was demolished and a new church building about twice the size was erected on the same site. In 1844 the congregation moved to a new church building on Route 27 in Old Mystic. In 1867 a new building was erected at this site to accommodate the church's growing congregation. In 1972, the congregation (then using the name Old Mystic Baptist Church) moved again to a newly constructed church at 151 Shewville Road. The church closed permanently in 2018.