Records of the First Baptist Church of Groton

Archive

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Groton Public Library

Name/Title

Records of the First Baptist Church of Groton

Entry/Object ID

2026.001.007

Scope and Content

Collection of by-laws, petitions, resolutions and other official documents from the First Baptist Church of Groton, 1842-2005. Folder 1 - Articles of Faith and petition, 1842 Folder 2 - Complaints, claims and protests against the church, 1842-1855 Folder 3 - Constitution and by-laws of the Old Mystic Baptist Church, 1966 Folder 4 - Old Mystic Baptist Church Community Study, 1966 Folder 5 - Resolutions, 1967 Folder 6 - Certificates, 2005

Collection

First Baptist Church of Groton Collection

Acquisition

Accession

2026.001

Source or Donor

First Baptist Church of Groton

Acquisition Method

Gift

Lexicon

Search Terms

First Baptist Church of Groton, Old Mystic Baptist Church

Legacy Lexicon

Object Name

Record

Archive Details

Creator

Old Mystic Baptist Church, First Baptist Church of Groton

Date(s) of Creation

1842 - 2005

Archive Size/Extent

6 Folders

Archive Notes

Date(s) Created: 1842-2005

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.