Church History
Welcome to the Frist Baptist Church of Canisteo, N.Y.
We are a small church of loving people who welcome visitors and the possibility of sharing our faith and experiences with each other.
Our church started as a daughter church of what is now the Hornell First Baptist Church. Our fellowship began with a few people who met in village homes from 1867-1873.
As the numbers of people grew, the meetings moved to the second floor of a loval blacksmith shop, which had a second floor with benches for seating. Baptisms were held in nearby Bennett's Creek.
On September 15, 1876, it was decided to take steps to organize a church. As a result of that meeting, 20 interested persons met and were elected two people as Chruch Deacons and one the Chruch Clerk. Two weeks later representatives of several area Baptist churches met. This council was satisfied with the standards adopted and recognized the Canisteo Baptist Church as a regular Baptist Church.
On Dec. 11, 1876 the Rev. C.K. Bunnell was invited to become pastor, and he accepted. On December 12 an agreement was made with the owner of a downtown building, to rent an upstairs area for services. It was known as Riddell Hall, which had been an opera hall.
In April of 1879 Rev. Bunnell resigned and in September 11, 1879 , Rev Joel H. Hendricks was called to be pastor. At that time the church had 55 members.
In October, the church voted to build an actual house of worship, and a committee was formed to submit building plans. A building committee was apointed in October 1879 and construction began, with help from members of the congregation. A newspaper article states: "With such efficiency was the work carried on, that by the eleventh of November arrangements were being made for a dedication of the Building."
The first prayer meeting was held in the new building on December 16, 1880. The final service at Riddell Hall was the following Sunday. The new building was didicated in December of 1880. An amazing accomplishment for a group of believers totaling only 55 members.
In 1963 a 30 X 50 foot addition was added to the rear of the church building which includes a large dining / fellowship room, a modern kitchen , four rooms on the second floor and three in the basement, allowing for a modern nersery room to be included in thr original structure.
Our current Pastor, Rev. Jim Patton has been the pastor since July of 2006, sharing his time between being a school teacher and a high school athletic coach at Wayland-Cohocton Central School. We have seen the youth group grow and introduced technology into the morning worship.
The History of the church has been of a faithful few that believed in the mission of Christ in the the Canisteo Valley. We welcome all to fellowship with us.