The Second Baptist Church was organized on June 24, 1849, with forty-two members, many of whom were members of the First Baptist Church. The church was called the Baptist Church of Ireland Parish for a short time. Services were held at the Gaulladet & Terry Block at the corner of High and Lyman Streets.
The following fall, services were held at Chapin Hall. In April 1853, a building committee was formed to explore a location for a new church. A site was selected near the northeast intersection of Race and Crescent (called at the time) Streets. The land was purchased from the Hadley Falls Company on January 7, 1856, for $5.00. The deed stipulated that the land could only be used to construct a house of worship unless consent was received from the seller.
The new church's vestry was completed on November 23, 1855 (prior to property acquisition?), but it took some years to realize the completion of the church building. Members met in the vestry until the church was ready.
The new church was dedicated on March 17, 1959. Four and one-half years later, on October 23, 1863, it was entirely destroyed by fire.
The new church was constructed using the foundation of the old church and raised two additional feet. It was dedicated on April 20, 1865. It cost $17,601.32 and was built free of debt.
In October 1870, the church purchased land from Holyoke Water Power at the southeast corner of Appleton and Chestnut Streets. In April 1871, a parsonage was built on the land at a cost of $10,000.
During this time, the congregants and church officials began reconsidering the church's present location. It was close to the noisy commercial street in front and the trains running behind the edifice. The population was moving away from the area, up the hill west of the mill area.
In 1882, a lot at the corner of Appleton and Walnut Streets was purchased for $7,500. Raising funds to build the church was challenging. The generosity of the members overcame the hurdles, and the funding from contributors more than tripled to $21,000.
The architects Cain and Kilburn, who were church members, drew the plans, and construction commenced.
The cornerstone was laid on August 9, 1884, and the church was dedicated on October 20, 1885.
The new church, which seated 900 and was built for $73,000, was completed within three years. A chapel was also erected in Willamansett. The Ward 1 Mission was formed in Holyoke to serve new members and those existing congregants who would find it difficult to travel to the new church location.
On November 25, 1885, the old church building was sold to Timothy Merrick for $20,450.
In 1886, Holy Rosary Church was building its church and leased the former Second Baptist Church for two years.
In May 1889, the work to demolish the old Second Baptist Church on Crescent Street began. The work was substantially completed in mid-June 1889.
Timothy Merrick planned to erect a four-story building on the site. The first floor would be occupied by an American Express office, the second floor by offices, and the upper two stories by light mercantile concerns. Later, the plan changed for occupancy of the upper two floors, as a news article stated Ampad would rent the space for offices. The plan to build on the church site was not realized.
In 1890, the church membership was 612, and the Sunday School membership numbered 671.
In 1899, the Appleton and Chestnut Streets parsonage was sold to C. Fayette Smith.
A vote was taken in June 1984, and the decision was made to move the church to South Hadley. The church was sold in September 1985, and arrangements were made to continue conducting services in the building until the new church in South Hadley was completed.
The newly built church in South Hadley was dedicated on June 1, 1986.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates are shown.
Holyoke Public Library, Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories.
Story of the Holyoke Churches, G. C. Osgood, 1890
Registry of Deeds, Hampden County, Springfield, Massachusetts
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Holyoke, Massachusetts; years 1889 and 1895
1911 Richards Atlas of Holyoke, Massachusetts
Second Baptist Church and to the far right, the Flatiron Building
L-R Mosher Street Underpass, Norris House,
Second Baptist Church, and the Train station on Bowers Street
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