The Lattingtown Baptist Church is historically significant in the areas of architecture, settlement, and social history. Built circa 1810, this early church building retains its original 2 story rectangular front gabled 3x4 bay meeting-house form.
“The most basic thread of the American church might well be the meeting house-the plain, rectangular house like box. Relocate the altar or pulpit to one end, change its orientation by moving the main entrance from the side to the opposite send, and then add a steeple over the entrance and you have the second meeting house type. The steepled meeting house is one of the most abiding of the American forms of worship. It becomes the basic American church.” (American Country Churches, William Morgan)
Little is known and records do not exist regarding the building of the original church. It is a typica country church built by farmers wishing to formalize their relationship with God. There were many of the same kind built in many rural areas all over America and the Lattingtown Church, due to the fact that it has not been modernized in many ways, is an excellent example of the early 19th century churches. The root is the original town meeting houses erected by our earliest settlers. For many, the meeting house and the church were the same building. As time passed, town halls and churches became separate buildings. Many of these early churches were purposefully built without much ornamentation-extraneous decorations might distract worshipers from the Word of the Lord.
It is not known if the clapboard siding and corner boards are original. That they may be replacements for the original clapboard is recognized, as clapboard would be in keeping with the meeting house form. Of particular interest are the window architraves, which vertically stretch to enclose both the first and second story windows within a single architrave suggesting the verticality of the large elongated single windows. The windows within a single architrave are best seen in the 1944 photo on the cover of the 150th anniversary pamphlet. Here it is seen that the windows appear to be two stories high. Note also that the slight arch to the lintel (shallow-pitched) on the door is reflected in the lintels of the windows. There is no cross over the door in this photo and it would seem this was added at a later date as was the breaking of the windows into two parts servicing the downstairs and upstairs.
The belfry tower was not added until Reverend Moncada did his restoring of the church in the 1930s. The church has the original woden doors and a big slate slab for the stoop with slate steps. Each side of the entry has aluminum railings circa 1965.
The interior of the church retains its original plan with a small entry vestibule running the width of the building with enclosed stairways leading up to the balcony/gallery on either end, and a large open nave with a small sanctuary area against the rear wall of the building. A deep, second-floor galley supported by chamfered posts surrounds the nave on three sides. The church sanctuary is 36.4’ long by 32.4’ wide. It has a centered double door entry and evenly spaced windows on the first and second stories. There are two aisles leading to the front, which is slightly raised (2.2’). The center portion of pews contains six rows with fiew rows of pews on either side with another two on the southwest side of the platform. There are camfered pillars supporting the upstairs section. The upstairs at one time also had pews, but is now enclosed on two sides for Sunday School classes and storage. The center section of the upstairs was opened back up in 1992 by Matthew Johnston of Marlboro as his Eagle Scout project. The pillars still have the original metal hooks which hold the original brass oil lanterns used in the church. The floors, which are presently carpeted, still contain the original wide board flooring.
The pump organ which served the church for many years is still located within.
There are stained glass windows that the church was given in the 1960s by St. Agnes church in Balmville, which is now closed and sold to private parties. James Poulin installed the windows. He had to change the shape of the windows as the newer stained glass windows have a top arch. With the exception of a few original multi pane double-hung windows (4 on the front façade and a couple on each side elevation) all the windows have been shortened and replaced. Thus, there are still a number of windows that are double hung, eight over eight. It is expected these were the same windows replaced by the stained glass windows. It is believed that this may have been the same time as the two story windows had the center section filled to become upstairs and downstairs windows.
The church has no water and so a clapboard privy stands on the southwest corner. Its age is unknown.
To the south of the church is the cemetery-enclosed with a neat set-up stone fence. Most of the stones are small and simple; two are white marble. All face west. Most of the markers are still extant, but some are atilt. The first burial was a four year old girl. The cemetery has one hundred and twenty graves. Among the graves are:
John Mackey-Sgr. 3rd Ulster
Nehemiah Smith-Sgr New Marlborough 5th line
William Mitchell Jr.-4th Ulster
Jonathan Woolsey-Sgr 4th Ulster
All were in the military o the Patriot’s side during the Revolutionary War. This is a serene, fitting, final resting place for these farmer-soldiers.
Despite the modifications to the original 1810 church building, the Lattingtown Baptist Church retains a substantial degree of its historic architectural integrity and provides an excellent example of the evolution of the early 19th century church building as it responded to prevailing architectural trends.
The Lattingtown Baptist Church is not only significant in its architecture, but also for the important role it has played in the community life for over 200 years.
