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| Milton Baptist Church 1821 - 1955 |
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| From the Milton Bridge, showing both churches! |
On Sunday morning, January 23,1955, the Milton Baptist Church was totally destroyed by fire. The blaze broke out in the furnace room about an hour after the furnace had been started for the Sunday service. By the time the fire was discovered, the furnace room was a blazing inferno and the main part of the church was filled with smoke. The fire quickly spread and went up the steeple which was above the furnace room. Large timbers began to fall as well as the large bell in the steeple.
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| Milton Baptist Church Fire - Jan 23,1955 |
The church was built sometime after 1821 and was the oldest of the 2 Milton Churches. Some remodelling and enlarging were done in 1859, 1898 and 1931. A new organ had just been purchased and installed before Christmas 1954, just a month before the fire. In 1859-60 the auditorium was enlarged, galleries put in and the tower and basement were added. In 1898, an addition was made to the west end of the church to accommodate the choir. On July 14,1929 the parsonage for the church was destroyed by fire and was located directly across the street from the church. Houses on each side of the parsonage were also destroyed. The church was insured for $8,000 and the organ for $1500. Of course the rest is history. The Milton Baptists were able to build a new church building and that building still stands to this day. In later years, the church parking lot has been paved and the parsonage next door has undergone upgrades with new windows, etc.
We learn something new every day. This I didn't know. Thanks Tim!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt was surprising to read that this fire happened on a Sunday morning and not on a Saturday(my memory error!). I knew that it was not a school day because I remember hearing all the fire sirens from my home which was less than one half mile away. An eight-year-old at the time, this was the first "big" fire that I can remember. At one point during the day, I stood in a group on the bridge and watched as a section of the roof collapsed into a billowing cloud of sparks, smoke and flames! - Les Huskins
ReplyDeleteActually Tim, the Church was built in about 1867, although the Baptist folks of The Falls first set up their own Church Group in 1832 or so and for more details, you may have a chat with Francis Tupper in his "History Of The Liverpool Township".
ReplyDeleteOn the property where they did build a small Church in 1833 or so, one can see a huge tree to this day, split trunk which had a bolt installed in it back in the 1950's made in the local Forge to increase it's strength. I too saw the Church fire that Sunday morning from Ray Downies Yard.
I also remember standing across the road watching this fire destroy the church that was built around 1867. Where is the location of the small church that was erected around 1833?
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