West Warwick First Baptist Church (c. 1843)
A 1-story end-gable Greek Revival meeting house with 20th century neo-Colonial alterations. It has a pedimented central entrance portico sheltering a pedimented doorway, a spire at the front of the roof containing a louvered belfry, and 12-over-12 windows at the sides. The building, on a small lot with a front lawn, is now covered with modern siding.
This church, organized in 1805, is an outgrowth of the Warwick and Coventry Baptist Church, which had its meetinghouse in Quidnick in 1808. During the great revival of religious interest in the 1820s. Many members, including people from Crompton and Centreville, were added to the church rolls. From 1830 to 1840, during the tenure of the Rev. Arthur A. ROSS, who was given a parsonage in Centerville in 1832, religious services were conducted in various halls, stores, and houses in Crompton. Brother John ALLEN offered to build a 40-by50 foot meeting house of wood if the Society agreed to purchase a lot and build a vestry. In 1843 the meetinghouse was erected here. It was the first of four churches for various denominations erected in Crompton between 1843 and 1845. The church changed its name to the First Baptist Church of Crompton in 1879. The Rev. Oliver P. FULLER wrote the History of Warwick in 1875 while he was pastor of this church. Page 73 Taken From The Historic & Architectural resources of West Warwick, a preliminary report done in 1987 by the RI Historical Preservation Commission. page
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