The Republican journal., 1905-03-30
OLD LrNcoLrv1IIF caURcH
Remarkable Old Building in . wafao
County Town.

Remarkable Old Building in walit
| County Town.
| When a stranger goes to Center Lin
colnville one of the first objects Of
historical interest that is shown him is
the old Baptist church. Every either
points to it with just pride as it is
one of the few old churches in Maine
! that remains the same TODAY as wher
built.
1.-The old Meeting House." alb it is
called was built by Captain Joshua
Lamb, public spirited citizen of the
town, in the year 1921. 1t is estimated
that the building cost $4,000. The
finish is the best. Seats are of pine
two feet wide and free from knots. All
carving, of which there is considerable.
is by hand, and very beautiful. Prob.
ably most of the lumber used in it's con.
structiOn was from the primeval forests
of Lincolnville.
! When completed Mr.. Lamb sold as
many pews as possible to his townsmen.
giving deeds therefor, but the larger
f, number remained unsold, seriously EN-.
barrassing him in business.
Entrance to the church is made by
one door to the hall, from which two
doors lead to the audience room. Gal
leries are on all four sides, the rear gal
| lery being occupied by the choir The
! front gallery, somewhat lower than the
others, forms the pulpit, so that the
preacher is elevated about eight feet
above the audience on the main floor.
Family boxes are located in the gallery.
These are six feet long and three wide,
with board settees running around the
sides. Small kneeling boxes were
placed In the center of the boxes. The
pews had doors, many of which have
been removed.
a peculiar feature of the church is
that the seats face the front so that all
people entering can be seen by the
entire congregation. This is believed
to have been an incentive to early
arriving.
Captain Lamb had two brothers who
were Free Will Baptist clergymen,
Rev. George Lamb of Brunswick ana
Rev. John Lamb of his own town, and
another brother, Deacon Benjamin
Lamb, but neither of the two first ap-
appear to have been settled pastors OF
this church, although they frequently
preached there.
Elder Mckinney, who resided where
the new cemetery is located, probably
was WY Aioe peaotOl. sewing several
years. For many years Elder Rines, a
blind preacher, was pastor, accurately
recltlng his scripture and hymns from
memory. This was also favorite pull
pit for supply by Hon. Ebenezer Knowl-
ton, NJ. c. Rev. Jason Mariner, son
of Deacon Joseph Mariner, a trustee
of Bates College, was worthy men,
Der of this church.
John w ami pra,,1Sop of 20 MT q / N
Lamb, was born on the old homestead
overlooking the church and village.
He graduated from Colby College with
high honors in the class of '55, being
the first native college graduate of Lin
colnvllle. He was classmate of Hon.
Reuben Foster, one time speaker of the
Maine House and PRESIDENT of the
| Senate and of the late Governor Ding
ley.
The membership of the old Baptist
| church never was very large, but the
| Sunday school once registered one
thousand members. In its prosperous
| days the church was an important fac
tor in the welfare of the community,
as the long line of carriages on its lawn
and sturdy yeomen on their way to
worship testified. Quarterly meetings
and special occasions have taxed to the
utmost the capacity of the old church
and the hospitality of the people.
After many years the pews became
free and now the church is used for
worship by ali denominations, as the
builder originally intended it should be.
1t was repaired few years ago, and
Rev. F. NJ. Preble, D. d., pastor of the
Court street Baptist church, Auburn,
preached the dedicatory sermon
Among the we'll known pastors who
have stood in its pulpit are Rev. w. H.
| jackson Of Auburn, Rev. D. r. Mans
field of Pasadena, Cal, and Rev. Gideon
Sanford.
In recent years the church has rung
with the eloQuence of many political
orator, it being used for rallies by all
| parties. Debates between the cham
pions OF the two parties have also been
| held in it.
The literary exercises at the centen-
NAL celebration of Lincolnville on June
%, 1902, were held in this building, the
speaker on that occasion standing in the
high pulpit, which up to that time had
not been used for many years. Water
vile Sentinel.