Form No. 10.300 Rev 1074

tJL’JIILJSI/1IIS II.I’;IIiII:NIOI liii: IF"uIIItIR.-. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

NATIONAL REGISTEROFHISTORICPLACESINVENTORY NOMINATION FORM -

FORNPSUSEONLY . :

RECEIVEQ .- .. :. .

DATE ENTERED *:

SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN HOWTO COMPLETE NA TIONAL REGISTER FORMSTYPE ALL ENTRIES-- COMPLETE APPLICABLE SECTIONS

flNAMEHISTORIC

Baptist Church in ExeterAND/On COMMON . . -

*Chestnut Hill Baptist Church*

fiLOCATIONSTREET& NUMBER

Ten Rod Road State Route 102 NOTFORPURLICAION

CITY. TOWN . . CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Exeter 2-Representative Edward BeardSTATE . CODE COUNTY CODE

Rhode Island 44 Washington 009

OCLASSIFICATION

CATEGORY OWNERSHIP STATUS PRESENT USE.PUBLIC XOCCUPIED .

LBUILDINGSI XPRIVATE - PARK

- WORK IN PROGRESS RESIDENCE

PUBLIC ACQUISITION ACCESSIBLE LRELIGIOUS

PROCESS XES RESTRICTED .SCIENTIFIC

CONSIDERED YES: UNRESTRICTED .._TRANSPORTATION

flOWNER OF PROPERTYNAME . -

Chestnut Hill Baptist_Church_____________________________STREET& NUMBER

Ten Rod RoadCITYTOWN - .- . STAtE

Fxeter . Rhode IslandflLOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION

COURTHOUSE.

REGISTRY OF DEEDSETC Exeter_Town_Clerk’s_OfficeSTREET & NUMBER

Ten Rod RoadCItY. TOWN STATE

Exeter Rhode Island

U REPRESENTATIONIN EXISTING SURVEYSTITLE State of Rhode Island Preliminary Survey Report - Town of Exeter

DATE

1976 ?.STATE .._LOCAL

DEPOSIEOIIY FOR

SURVEYRECORDS Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission-CITY. TOWN STATE

Providence Rhode Island

-‘I.

I’

flDESCRIPTION

CONDITION CHECK ONE CHECK ONE

_EXCELLENT _DETEHIORATED - UNALTERED X0RIGJNAL SITE

_G000 _RLJINS XALTEFIED _MOVED DATE________

_FAIR _UNEXPOSED

DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL IF KNOWN PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

The Chestnut Hill Baptist Church stands at the crest of a hillon the north side of Ten Rod Road State Route 102 , in the easternpart of the town of Exeter, Rhode Island. The setting is rural andsparsely settled, and consists primarily of second-growth woodland:.The Church property is bounded on the west by a gravel parking lot,used by the church and a nearby grange hall, on the east by a largecemetery, and on the north by woods. The church building standsbehind a small lawn which is attractively planted with evergreens.

In 1838 the Baptist Church in Exeter erected this meetinghouseabout one mile west of the site of its two former homes. Probablymodelled after the then recentlyrefurbished Baptist Church inWickford, to which it bears a strong stylistic resemblance, theChestnut Hill Church was built of local materials and by local workmen, of whom Deacon Russel Joslin and his brother Harry V. Joslin,both members of the congregatiOn, were the principals. It wasdedicated October 4, 1838.

The church faces south. It is a rectangular, white-painted,wood-frame, end-gable structure of modest size, with a small, square,ridge-mounted belfry above the single front entrance ee Photo 1Greek Revival in style, the building possessesa pedimented facadefronted by an attached screen of four projecting, panel-fronted,pilaster-like piers. The double-door entrance is surmounted by aGreek-key-pattern fretwork panel. This facade is clad with flushhorizontal siding.; the side and rear elevations are clapboarded.

The side walls are pierced by large square-head, double-sashwindows. The windows are fitted with non-original black-painted,solid-wood exterior shutters, each of which displays a white-paintedcross. The plain, windowless rear facade is treated with rakingcornices and cornice returns in place of a pediment.

Exterior alterations include the replacementof a decorativeanthemion belfry cresting, blown down in the 1958 hurricane, with asimilar but less elaborately decorated version see Photo 4, andthe addition in the mid-l9SOs of a one-story, clapboarded Sundayschool/parish house building at the back of the church, extendingto the east. The parish house,a low, flank-gable structure, with anend-gable wing at its east end, is designed in a Greek Revival-inspired mode in an effort to harmonize with the church building.

The interior of the church contains a narrot4 narthex or vestibule extending across the full width of the structure; a staircaseat its east end provides access to a gallery at the hack of the

Forr.No 1 0-300a

Hey 10.741 -

Ii NIl El. SlAt 1:5 RIMI-NI if Fill-. I NflRIOR FOR NPS USE ONLY- NATIONAL PARK SERVICE -: - - - - -

- RECEIVED

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACESINVENTORY--NOMINATIONFORM -

_______

CONTINUATION SHEET 1 ITEM NLJMBEFI 7 PAGE 2

audience room see -Photo 3. Originally, two separate doorwaysopened from the vestibule to the audience room. These have beenclosed up and a wide, central double doorway cut through.

The sanctuary is a square, high-ceilinged room, illuminatedby three large, square-head, double-hung, 12/12 windows in eachside wall. The present ceiling, which arches slightly from sidewall to side wall, is finished with fiberboard panels supportodby thin wood battens. This ceiling, whose arched design followsthe form of the original plaster one, was installed in 1929, atthe same time that the church was electrified. The small, three-step-high pulpit platform is located at the back of the building,opposite the entrance to the sanctuary. Two aisles subdivide thelevel floor of the room into four tiers of pews, two side-by-sidein the center of -the floor between the aisles, and one on eitherside between the aisle and side wall. -

The original flat-topped pews, possessing plain, unpaneledends and stained -rails, survive, although they now lack doors.The present pulpit platform, installed in 1882, replaces theoriginal small, high pulpit entered by staircases on either sidesee Photo 2. In the mid-l9SOs the platfotm was converted intoa chancel. The small, simple Late Victorian paneled desk was movedto one corner, and a Colonial-style altar, with a dossal hangingand built-in seats, installed. The pews, chancel furniture, andall interior trim are now painted white.

Form No 1O-300a

key 10- 741

liNE! 1:1 SIAlES III’AItIMI:.NI UI liii: INII* 131<NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACESINVENTORY-- NOMINATION FORM

CONTINUATION SHEET

A

N

2 ITEM NUMBER

IGalleryfront

Parish

FOR NPS USE ONLY

RECEIVED - --

DATE ENTERED

PAGE 3

Ho1 e

Chestnut HillBaptist Church,JLxeter, H.I.

0 SIGNIFICANCE

PERIOD AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE--CHECK AND JUSTIFY BELOW

_PREHISTORIC _ARCHEOLOGY-PREHISTORIC _XOMMUNITY PLANNING _LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE RELIGIQN

_1400-1499 _ARCHEOLOGY-HISTORIC CONSERVATION _LAW SCIENCE

_1500-1599 AGRICULTURE ._ICONDMICS _LITERAIURE _SCULP[UHE

_1600-1699 XAHCHITECTURE EDUCATION _MILITARY SOCIAUHUMANITARIAN

x-1 100-1799 _ART ENGINEERING _MUSIC ._THEATER

XlBOO-1899 _COMMERCE _EXPLORATION/SETTLEMENT PHILOSOPHY -. _TRANSPORTATION

_900. COMMUNICATIONS LINOUSTRY _POLITICS/GOVEFRNMENT _OTHER ISPECIFVI

- - _INVENTION -

SPECIFIC DATES 1838 - BUILDER/ARCHITECT -

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

In architectural terms, the Chestnut 11111 Baptist Church mustbe judged to be one of Rhode Island’s finest Greek Revival countrychurches. In local terms, it is significant as the home of Exeter’soldest congregation. -

The Chestnut Hill Church ws founded in 1750, only eight yearsafter the incorporation of the town, as the "Baptist Church in Exeter."Like many another Rhode Island Baptist church founded in the wake ofthe Great Awakening of the l740s, the congregation took at first aliberal position on the question of baptism and church membership.By 1776, however, it had adopted- the more typical Calvinis-tic Baptistpractice of admitting as members only those who professed their faithand were baptized anew.

The church, which served the eastern part of Exeter and surrounding areas, experienced a rapid expansion of membership in its earlyyears, probably as a result of the growth of population in thisrelatively late-settled agricultural district. In 1776 the congregation had 77 members; by 1783 the number stood at 210. In 1825,numerically the peak year, the membership reached 758, and must haveincluded a large proportion of the area residents.

Until 1829 the Baptist Church remained the only church group inthe eastern part of Exeter. In that year, however, a controversyregarding the moral character of the pastor, Elder Gershom Palmer,resulted in the expulsion of Palmer and his supporters. This group,although reconciled with the parent church in 1845, continued tomeet separately, and in 1856 built the still-standing Liberty Churchseveral miles to the south. By 1858 the Baptist Church in Exeter -possessedonly 188 members.

The church has never regained its early numerical strength. Itsvitality was sapped in -the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries by the gradual decline f the rural population a commonphenomenon in New England generally and Rhode Island in particular.

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Form Jc l0-300a

Hey 10-74 -

uN tiLl SlAtES tIPAI IMENI UI- FIlE INIt-:IIott FOR NPS USE ONLYNATIONAL PARK SERVICE - -

RE CE IVED

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES - -

INVENTORY-- NOMINATION FORM DATE ENTERED

CONTINUATION SHEET 3 ITEM NUMBER- 8 PAGE 2

However, the congregation continues to hold weekly services, and looksto a more prosperous future with the gradual suburbanization of thearea. -

Despite the simplicity of its Greek Revival detailing, theChestnut Hill Baptist Church is one of the more elaborate RhodeIsland country churches of its day. With its paneled pilasters - -

and Greek-key-pattern fretwork panel over the doorway, it is a naive,.country exemplification of the southeastern New England regionalGreek Revival mode developed by prominent area architects such asRussell Warren and James-Bucklin. Discussed by Talbot Hamlin inGreek Revival Architecture in America and pictured by Henry-RussellHitchcock in Rhode Island Architecture, the Chestnut Hill Church isa local and state landmark. - -

flMAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES - -

Arnold, WiI,let 11. Historical Sketch of the Baptist Church in Exeter,R. I.

Exeter Baptist Church Records, Mss. 2 vols. and unbound sheets.Hamlin,. Talbot. Greek Revival Architecture in America. New York:

Oxford University Press, 1944. - -

CGEOGRAPHICAL DATA -

ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY 1 / 2 a creUTM REFERENCES

-

-Al 1191 L..I 161618101 I46 L0,6V10Qi BI

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c111[111,IjI1111,,IVERBAL BOUNDARY DEScRIPTION -

From the southeast corner the property line runsside of Ten Rod RQad for fifteen rods 247.-S feet, then north forten rods 165 feet, then east for ten rods, then south for five rods82.5 feet, then east for five rods, then south for five rods, to the

LIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERL APPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES

STATE CODE COUNTY CODE

STATE CODE COUNTY CODE

mFORMPREPAREDNAME / TITLE

BY -

Robert Osborne Christensen, Survey ConsultantORGANIZATION DATE

Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commssion April.STREET& NUMBER TELEPHONE

150 Benefit Street 401-277-2678CITY OR TOWN STATE

Providence Rhode Island

ESTATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER CERTIFICATION -

- THE EVALUATED SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS PROPERTY WITHIN THE STATE IS:

NATIONAL....... STATEJL. LOCAL_

As the designated State Historic Preservation Olficer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 PUblic Law 89-6651.1hereby nominate this property for Inclusion in dNationaI Register and certily that it has been evaltiated according 10 thecriteria and procedures set forth by the Nation I Park ervice. -

FEDERAL REPnESENTATIVE SIGNATURE j -

TITLE State Historic Preservation Officer DATE June 21, 197-8F0RNpsUSE0NLY -

I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS PROPERTY IS INCLUDED IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER

DATEDIRECTOR. OFFICE OF ARCHEOLOGY AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION .

ATTEST: DATE

-KEEPER OF THE NATIONAL REGISTER -

R.I. Central Fails, E. L. Freeman Co., 1883

point of beginning. See Exeter Land Evidences,

west along the north

XI, 336.

1978

Form No 1O.300aHey. 10-74 -

I..JNII It St,- I 1:5 !t:I’.RIMI.NI UltIlt. INIEHI’jIt FOR NPS USE ONLYNATIONAL PARK SERVICE -

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NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACESINVENTORY-- NOMINATION FORM DATE ENTERED -

CONTINUATION SHEET 4 ITEM NUMBER 9 PAGE 2

J-Jitchcock, Henry - Russell. Rhode Island Architecture. New York:Da Capo Press, 1968.

Huling, Mary Kenyon. Historical Sketch of the Baptist Church inExeter, Rhode Island Chestnut Hill. Private printing, 1938.

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Chestnut Hill Baptist Church

Ten Rod Road, Exeter, Rhode Island

Robert 0. Christensen

Negative filed:

January, 1978

Rhode Island HistoricalPreservation Commission

Exterior from the southeast

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Chestnut 11111 Baptist Church

Ten Rod Road, Exeter, Rhode Island

Robert 0. Christensen January, 1978

Negative filed: Rhode Island HistoricalPreservation Commission

Front of audience room from the south

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Chestnut Hill Baptist Church

Ten Rod Road, Exeter, Rhode Island

Robert 0. Christensen January, 1978

Negative filed: Rhode Island HistoricalPreservation Commission

- Detail of gallery front

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Chestnut Hill Baptist Church

Ten Rod Road, Exeter, Rhode Island

Robert 0. Christensen January, 1978

Negative filed: Rhode Island historicalPreservation Commission

Exterior from the southwestPost card view c. 1910

- #4

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Baptist Church in ExeterChestnut Hill Baptist ChurchExeter, Rhode Island

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