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Grafton Christian
Church
860 Main St or PO Box 126
Grafton, New Hampshire 03240
Phone: 603.523.7225
Fax: 603.523.7225
Email: tnwarner@innevi.com
Web: http://www.graftonchristianchurch.org
Map to Church: View
map
Church
History
It
is unfortunate that the history of the Grafton
Christian Church is not as well preserved
as one might hope or expect. What is known
is that the church building, or meetinghouse,
was constructed by John Kimball in 1798, just
twenty years after the town of Grafton was
incorporated. At that time it was known as
the Center Baptist Church. In 1856 the building
was sold to Alexander Williams for $12. It
was then moved across the street from the
Green, enlarged, and remodeled. The upper
section was used as the sanctuary and the
lower section for a town hall. This dual arrangement
continued for over one hundred years, until
the 1960's, when the town took over one of
the old school houses and it became the new
town hall. In 1980, the spire was added to
the top of the existing bell tower. The bellfry
and the bell were probably added in the mid
1800's after the building became the property
of Alexander Williams. No record is known
of what the building originally looked like
before it was moved from the Green and remodeled
though the search continues.
Many
reorganizations have taken place over the
years; along with Center Baptist Church, it
has been known as the Christian, Christian
Congregational, and Congregational Christian
Church. Because of the great length of the
official name: Grafton Center Congregational
Christian Church, in 1999 the name was for
practical purposes shortened to the name that
has become common usage amongst the townspeople,
The Grafton Center Church, but as of the year
2000, the name was again changed to Grafton
Christian Church. It continues to be affiliated
with the National Association of Congregational
Christian Churches.
