Evangelical Baptist Church (Laconia, New Hampshire)

The Evangelical Baptist Church (also known as Meredith Bridge Congregational Church or Laconia Congregational) is a historic church building on Veterans Square in Laconia, New Hampshire, United States. The 2-1/2 story wood frame church was built in 1836 for a Congregationalist congregation, replacing an older church which had burned. It underwent major exterior alterations in 1871, adding a second floor (by raising the building and building a new lower level), and a taller tower. The church was extensively damaged in 1902, when a fire in the city center set off gunpowder at a nearby hardware store. The damaged building was purchased by a Baptist congregation, and moved to its present location in 1903. The upper stages of the tower were toppled in the New England Hurricane of 1938, resulting in the construction of a new steeple and the installation of a new bell. The Evangelical Baptist Church was the last congregation to occupy the building before moving to the former...