The First Baptist Church of Washburn will Commemorate its 100th anniversary on Aug. 28 and 29. Celebration plans for the church, organized in 1871, are under way.
A program will be presented in observance of this special occasion.
A 5:30 picnic supper will be held at the church picnic grounds Saturday evening, Aug. 28. If the weather is not suitable, it will be held in the church Fellowship Hall dining room.
The picnic supper will be followed at 7 p.m. by an evening of music in the church auditorium and the Rev. John MacNeill, field secretary of Eastern Maine, of the United Baptist Convention of Maine, will be guest speaker.
There will be two services on Sunday. One in the morning at 11:00 with the Rev. John Quigg, a former pastor of First Baptist, presenting the message.
An afternoon service will be held at 3. Elmer Bentley, D.D., secretary of the United Baptist Convention of Maine, will be the speaker.
There will be special music at both Sunday services.
The public is cordially invited to attend and help celebrate the church's one hundredth anniversary.
WASHBURN -- The First Baptist Church of Washburn observed its 100th anniversary Aug. 28-29 [1971].
The history of the Baptist Church of Washburn is closely identified with the earliest settlement of the town itself. In February 1844 some seven families came to this part of Aroostook County and took up land along what is now the Main Street of the village, but which was only a blazed trail. These families were the Wilders, Stoddards, Bugbees, Herseys and Lincolns.
The religious preferences of these early founders of the town seem to have been Congregational and Baptist.
Robert Wilder, one of them, was a member of the Baptist Church at Pembrooke, Maine.
It was in 1871 that the church organization was perfected, but as the first records have been burned, it is not possible to say just how many members there were at the beginning, but they were not a large band.
Three deacons were chosen, Robert Wilder Sr., John Wilson and S. W. Taber. Deacon Taber was chosen clerk and held the office for thirty-five years. For a few years, the church did not have a settled pastor but depended upon occasional visits from itinerant preaches, services being held in the schoolhouse.
In 1873 Elder Robert Patten became pastor and served until 1877. Elder Patten received what the people could give him and had a farm and worked in that way besides preaching.
For a period, the church was without a pastor until 1880 when Elder W. W. Harrington became pastor. Elder Harrington was a carpenter by trade and immediately began the erection of a meeting house and parsonage. The land for the church building was given by William Umphrey and James M. Story and the parsonage lot by Benjamin Wilder. Elder Harrington and wife were zealous workers and Mrs. Harrington organized the Ladies Circle, which was a strong factor in the building of the church and parsonage. The buildings were first built on posts and later had walls and cellars put under them.
Elder Harrington did not remain to see the church all completed and dedicated but was followed by the Rev. A. W. Young in the fall of 1884. Young was ordained and the church building dedicated the same day in 1885. Elder Young was pastor until the spring of 1889.
Sunday School was continued regularly and members took turns reading sermons for church services.
In the spring of 1892 the Rev. H. B. Marshall came as pastor and remained two years. A bell was obtained by subscription and improvements were made on the parsonage during his pastorate.
The Rev. L. E. Carter became pastor in 1895 and remained until 1897. The Rev. A. R. McDougal was pastor from 1898 to 1899 and was ordained in the fall of that year.
For nearly three years the Rev. C. E. Young and the Rev. Hathan Hunt, missionaries of the State Convention, preached on the field and baptized quite a number of people.
On June 1, 1903, the Rev. William B. Chase became pastor for five years. Under his leadership, the church building was raised and a cellar and stone wall put under it. A kitchen was added to the parsonage. The Rev. Brown E. Smith came in August 1, 1908, from Cherryfield. A furnace was installed in the parsonage the same year. The Ladies Circle had felt the need of an addition or vestry to the church building for social purposes and other work. At the annual roll call in 1909 the pastor, in view of the promised opportunity appearing from the coming of the railroads, urged immediate steps be taken to enlarge the building, steeling the walls and ceiling and the installing of lights. When completed, the church had one of the best equipped buildings in the vincinity.
Two beautiful memorial windows were placed in the rear of the main room during renovation of 1909, bearing the names of Robert W. Wilder, Amanda J. Wilder and Lorinda J. Umphrey by their respective families.
The Rev. Christian Koch, who came to the church in October 1910 stayed for three years. During his pastorate the church membership was 126 and average Sunday School attendance was 76.
During the full year without a pastor the laymen conducted services. The Rev. Edward Foster became pastor in October 1914. He became ill and passed away in 1917. John Trites became pastor in July 1917 and stayed for two and one-half years. A bathroom was installed in the parsonage during his stay. The church membership at that time was 184 and the average Sunday School attendance was 97.
In July 1920 Raymond Cooper became Pastor and served until the next year. The church seemed to reach a peak during the ministry of the Rev. B. H. Thomas, who came in June 1921 and stayed for four years. As the Sunday School grew to an average attendance of 166, three new classrooms were added. During a ten-day evangelist campaign 50 People accepted the Lord, increasing the total church membership to 230.
The Rev. Erol R. Farrar became pastor in October 1925 and remained with the church until June 1935 ... the longest period on record that any pastor has remained with Washburn Baptist Church. In 1932 owing to "the prevailing depression" the pastor's salary was reduced from $1,800 to $1,200. When Pastor Felch accepted a call in September 1941, nine years later, the salary was still $1.200, but it increased yearly from that time on.
The Rev. Kenneth Paul served the church a year and a half. The Rev. John Quigg came in September 1937 and stayed four years. He was followed by the Rev. Nelson Felch, who stayed five years. The Rev. Philip Hughey was pastor from October 1946 to May 1951. Reuben Martin supplied during the spring and summer following Hughey's resignation. It was during this summer that 34 members left the fellowship of First Baptist Church to form the Conservative Baptist Church.
The Rev. Wesley Stuart began his ministry in September and remained eight-years. During his stay the church was remodeled and rededicated on Easter Sunday 1954. The Rev. Howard Krueger came to be pastor in July 1959 and served for nearly four years.
The Rev. Donald MacKenzie accepted a call and ministered from July 1963 to October 1965. During that time the first missionary conference was held and in 1964 the Christian Education Building was purchased.
Roy Barton served the church as interim pastor during the winter that followed.
The Rev. Eric Davidson came from Newfoundland in July 1969 and was pastor for two and one half years. The church purchased new pulpit furniture and dedicated it. The parsonage underwent extensive renovations during his stay.
The Rev. Carmine Centineo who became pastor in August 1969 is serving now as the church celebrates its 100th anniversary.