Niantic Baptist Church records (MS.2012.010)

Biographical/Historical note

The Niantic Baptist Church in Westerly, Rhode Island began with a gathering of Baptists in private homes about 1850. The church was organized and recognized in 1851, and they erected a meetinghouse in the village of Niantic. The village of Niantic was renamed Bradford after the Bradford Dyeing Association of Bradford, England, built a mill in the village between 1911 and 1914. The church grew to its fullest extent as a result of the Bradford mill. Never a large church, the membership dwindled in the last quarter of the 20th century to the point that by 1999, over 64 percent of the names on the church rolls were inactive or non-resident. Just 47 people (35.8 percent) were listed as “active.” However attendance at church meetings fell below twenty by 2005, and by 2009 the church held discussions with Central Baptist of Westerly about merging. Only twelve people showed up for the 2009 annual meeting. The church affiliated itself with the First Baptist Church of Charlestown at Quonochontaug in 2011 and shared its pastor. On January 15, 2012, the Niantic Baptist Church held its final meeting (six members and the pastor present) and closed the church.