{"nrhp_refnum":"84002188","name":"North Taunton Baptist Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1940 Bay St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Taunton","county":"Bristol County","state":"MA","lat":41.91467499500004,"lon":-71.09420312599997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-07-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Federal style Baptist church at 1940 Bay Street in North Taunton, Massachusetts, built in 1837 as a clapboard building for the North Taunton Baptist congregation. The architect is unknown.","why_significant":"It is described as the only early 19th century church in Taunton to survive in almost intact condition, and a very good example of Federal style church design. The congregation also encouraged a small rural settlement in North Taunton, first supported by farming and later by small manufacturing. The form cites criteria A and C.","narrative":"This clapboard church at 1940 Bay Street in North Taunton was built in 1837 in the Federal style. It is the second meeting house on its site. Baptists were living in the area by 1747 and worshipped with a congregation in Rehoboth. Jeremiah Bassett held meetings in his North Taunton home until the 1760s, when local Baptists organized under his guidance. The first meeting house went up in 1767 and the congregation was formally organized in 1769. That building was later moved to Weir Village and used as a warehouse. Divisions followed, including a split between Calvinists and Free Will Baptists, and members of this church founded the Winthrop Street Baptist Church, making it the mother Baptist church of the city. The building is regarded as Taunton's only surviving late Federal period church in almost intact condition, with its original location, design, materials and setting preserved. It also reflects the growth of a small rural settlement around the church, supported first by farming and later by small manufacturing.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a church; the form records no alterations and no moving.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.057842-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/45/7894/63789445/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002188.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002188/cf92ab889b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002188/cf92ab889b-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:North_Taunton_Baptist_Church.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:North_Taunton_Baptist_Church.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63789445","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Taunton_Baptist_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7056942"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/bristol-county/north-taunton-baptist-church-84002188/"}