Property Record
215 GRAND AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Merrill Baptist Church |
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| Other Name: | New Life Community Church |
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| Reference Number: | 21808 |
| Location (Address): | 215 GRAND AVE |
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| County: | Lincoln |
| City: | Merrill |
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| Year Built: | 1901 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1991 |
| Historic Use: | church |
| Architectural Style: | Shingle Style |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Clapboard |
| Architect: | H.A. Betts |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | Wood shingled pent gables with round stained glass windows. Tall brick exterior chimneys. Leaded glass window transoms. [Date Cnst:(LINCOLN CO HISTORY)]. The Merrill Baptist Church is significant under Criterion C as a good example of a Queen Anne style church in the city of Merrill. From 1880 to 1890 members met in homes under the direction of Sunday School missionary E.B. Edmunds. On December 21, 1890 thirteen charter members formally organized the Baptist Church and continued to meet in halls, stores, and other available meetings for several years. In 1893 the church purchased the former Wietor's Meat Market building (not extant) at the corner of Grand Avenue and Genesee Street. The congregation held services there until 1901, when with financial assistance from Wisconsin's Baptist State Convention and the Home Missionary Society, members hired A.O. Juve to build a new church in 1901, which was designed by Milwaukee architect H.A. Betts. The new structure was designed with Queen Anne style influences. They installed memorial windows for the towns of Chat and Granite Heights. In 1905 the Baptist Church had the largest membership and largest congregation of the American churches in Merrill. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) "Lincoln County History" p. 37. (B) Merrill City Directories, 1900-1945, located at T.B. Scott Free Library, Merrill, Wi. (C) Merrill Advocate, 14 May 1901, 5 November 1901, 28 January 1902. (D) Flynn, Edna, "A History of First Baptist Church," 1965, 1983 - located at Merrill Historical Society, Merrill, WI. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |