History

The land upon which the church stands was donated by respected resident Andrew Whipple, and in 1849 a society was created with the intent of erecting a two-story dual function academy or public school and church. The lower story was occupied by the ‘academy,’ laying the foundations for the church which would occupy the upper level. When Williams College man and Williamstown resident O. S. Nutting (1848) raised a thousand dollars, the church construction was begun and completed.

With pride from the community, on May 11, 1851, Williams College President Mark Hopkins rode over on horseback to preach the dedicatory service to the congregation of ten members, their friends, and visitors from surrounding towns. And thus began the building of a strong relationship between Williams and the church, with Williams called upon to supply various pastors and church leadership. Stipulated by Nutting before he raised the funds, the church was dedicated as a Congregational church. As the only Protestant church in North Pownal then and now, the church welcomes membership from every denomination except those of the Roman Cahtolic faith. Its broad, undenominational character remains.

In the winter of 1852, local Baptists asked for permission to use the church auditorium every Sunday at 5 p.m. to have regular services led by Reverend Mr. Arthur (father of President Chester H. Arthur). Minister. Arthur came over from his own church in Hoosick to preach, and in his sermons, he assailed the Congregationalist’s baptism practice. The debate escalated quickly, and excitement in the community was wild: “Everybody tried to be a theologian. Never were the Scriptures searched so diligently before. ‘Peters on Baptism’ was learned by heart, and his Greek phrases [were] quoted by those who had never studied the language. Groups of men stopped on the sidewalk and talked theology. The laborer in the cornfield leaned on the handle of his hoe, and with his index finger in his palm disserted learnedly on the meaning of baptism.”

Although the Congregationalists repeatedly asked Reverend Mr. Arthur to abandon his afternoon services, he refused, and they resorted to a unique plan. The Congregationalists attended his next Baptist service, and every time that he was in the midst of his most effective arguments, “they joined in a rousing hymn and finally sang the surprised pastor out of church.”

In March 1910, the church burned down. The present building was dedicated in 1911. In 1919, the pulpit was supplied by the pastor of the Pownal Baptist Church, now known as Faith Church, and later by young men in the community. In 1934, the pulpit was supplied by the pastor of the Pownal Methodist Church.

information adapted from Colburn Pinkham, 1910, revised 1939 (linked below)