econd Baptist Church was originally known as Calais Village Baptist Church. Calais Village Baptist Church was organized on December 29, 1841; and the first church building, shown here, was dedicated on October 24, 1844.
 
Before this building had been built, the church had met in the Goodnow’s Hall. By 1842, the congregation realized that a larger meeting place was necessary; therefore, construction began in 1843 on our first church building.
 
This church building was located on Point Street (now Main Street), on the side of the street that is nearest the river; the building was directly across from Monroe Street. The final cost of the new building was about $5,000.

The congregation continued to grow, and in 1848 the church decided to add 16 feet 6 inches to the width of the north side of the building.
 

During the early 1850s, the congregation grew rapidly, and the members began to search for larger quarters. In May 1855, they purchased a lot in the Sawyer Estate on Church Street. (Soon afterward, the old church on Point Street was sold to the Methodists.) On May 14, 1857, the congregation, now called Second Baptist Church, dedicated its new home on Church Street.

On October 22, 1882, during the ministry of Dr. Padelford, the meeting house on Church Street was destroyed by fire after being struck by lightning. Immediate plans were made to replace it.

 

On June 5, 1884, the new church was dedicated. The church was built at a cost of $18,000, and this included an elaborate tracker organ.

The building was completely renovated in 1929 while the church was searching for a new pastor.

While Elbert Paul was pastor, the parsonage had many repairs done, and a new oil furnace was installed there.

Dr. Bob Ginn undertook remodeling the church property and used $20,000 to good advantage for this project. The steeple had to be replaced as it had blown off in a storm.

The church celebrated its 150th anniversary on December 29, 1991. The theme of the celebration was “By God’s Grace – The First 150 Years,” and the celebration lasted five months.

During Chet Garrison’s pastorate, the church approved a restoration project for the sanctuary; this project was completed in 1996. In addition, the nursery was redone in a Noah’s Ark theme with a rainbow mural painted, “God’s Word is True.” The nursery was dedicated to Margaret Hinton and Ernest Chadbourne.

On September 16, 2001, after a Sunday evening service, Second Baptist Church was ablaze. While our church building was being rebuilt, the United Methodist Church allowed us to meet in their building; additionally, First Baptist Church in Milltown allowed us to hold our Easter and Christmas Eve services at their church. During this time, Albert Coffey stayed as our interim pastor for three years.
 

In  September 2003, construction began on the new church. The first service took place on April 25, 2004.