{"nrhp_refnum":"88002218","name":"First Baptist Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Harwood Dr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Sandy Creek","county":"Oswego County","state":"NY","lat":43.64386602700006,"lon":-76.07744915099994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-11-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-and-one-half story frame church with an octagonal plan and pyramidal roof, on the north side of Harwood Drive at the eastern edge of Sandy Creek village, Oswego County, New York. It was built in 1917-18.","why_significant":"It is argued to be a local, representative example of progressive early-twentieth century Protestant church design. Its octagonal shape and remarkably intact Akron plan interior, with a central sanctuary ringed by meeting rooms and galleries, distinguish it. The exterior form reflects the interior layout, which is unusual. It also retains strong interior integrity.","narrative":"Standing on Harwood Drive at the eastern edge of Sandy Creek village, this frame church was built in 1917-18 on an octagonal plan under a pyramidal roof. A square three-stage tower with stained-glass windows rises at the front, and a six-sided rusticated block porch marks the entry. Inside, pews curve in a semicircle around a two-story central sanctuary, surrounded by smaller rooms that open or close with folding doors, under a second-floor gallery. This arrangement is known as the Akron plan, popular among non-liturgical Protestant denominations from the 1850s to the 1920s. It is unusual here because the outside shape follows the interior layout. Charles M. Salisbury, a local home builder, banker and civic leader, designed the church, arranged financing and worked with congregation volunteers to build it. A memorial window to him and his wife remains in the tower. Vinyl siding replaced the original clapboards, but the original floors, pews, doors, paneling, altar and fixtures survive, and the congregation still uses the building.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Designed by Charles M. Salisbury; built by Charles M. Salisbury and volunteers from the congregation","architectural_style":"Akron plan church (octagonal plan, early twentieth century Protestant religious architecture)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still in use as a church by the Baptist congregation; condition listed as excellent; vinyl siding added between 1976 and 1984.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:45.639865-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/88002218.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002218/d164b9e894-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002218/d164b9e894-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"JaPaGaIII","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lacona_bapty_e.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">JaPaGaIII</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lacona_bapty_e.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75314301","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Baptist_Church_(Sandy_Creek,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5452432"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/oswego-county/first-baptist-church-88002218/"}