Colorized and non-colorized 1906 photos of the Park Street, “Free Will” Baptist Church, built in 1891-1892. The church still stands today, and is simply known now as the United Baptist Church. The church is listed on the NH Preservation Society’s 2021 “Seven to Save” list of landmarks. The steeple needs stabilization, and its stained-glass windows need upkeep.

The clock in the towering spire was repaired in October, 1999. Over the years, the four dials of the clock often displayed different times. The new electronic mechanism matched their times by controlling all four dials digitally.

The second church, in the background of the photos, is the Union Avenue Baptist church. The Union Avenue church opened in August, 1871, and was demolished in October, 1940. More images of the Union Avenue Baptist church can be found on this website’s Lakeport Opera House page.

Other Baptist Churches in Laconia include:

• The Evangelical Baptist Church, in downtown Laconia, at 12 Veterans Square, is no longer a church but an entertainment venue, the CAKE Theater. Originally, it was the Old North Church, built in 1836, renovated in 1871-1872, and located diagonally across Veterans Square, on its NE corner. After the construction of the adjacent, 1903 library, the church was moved across the square to its current location. The church featured a clock tower in its steeple until the steeple came down in the hurricane of 1938. The steeple was then rebuilt without the clock.

•The South Baptist Church, located at 85 Court Street, is still an active congregation. The church was originally built in 1841 and expanded in 1873. In 1876, after a fire, the building was rebuilt. It is still standing today.

• The First Baptist Church was located at the corner of Spring Street and Union Avenue. The church was dedicated in 1895, was featured on a circa 1910 postcard, and demolished in the mid-1940s. It is now the location of the Salvation Army building, at 177 Union Avenue.