Red Brick Church (Sodus Center, New York)

Red Brick Church
LocationJct. of Brick Church Rd. and S. Geneva Rd., Sodus Center, New York
Coordinates43°11′58″N 77°0′42″W / 43.19944°N 77.01167°W / 43.19944; -77.01167
Area4.9 acres (2.0 ha)
Built1824-1826
Architectural styleFederal
NRHP reference No.97001527[1]
Added to NRHPDecember 08, 1997
Red Brick Church
LocationJunction of Brick Church Road and South Geneva Road, Sodus Center, New York
Built1824–1826
Architectural styleFederal
NRHP reference No.97001527
Added to NRHPDecember 8, 1997

The Red Brick Church (also known locally as the Red Brick Meeting House) is a historic Federal-style Baptist meeting house in the hamlet of Sodus Center in the Town of Sodus, Wayne County, New York, United States.[2] A First Baptist congregation in Sodus was established in 1810 under the leadership of church elder Seba Norton, with early meetings held in members’ homes before a permanent building was constructed.[3] Work on the present brick church began in 1824 and the opening ceremony was held in July 1826.[4] The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 8, 1997.[2]

The church property includes an adjoining burying ground commonly known as Baptist Rural Cemetery (historically Brick Church Cemetery).[5]

History

Settlement context

European-American settlement in the Town of Sodus began in the 1790s following the opening of western New York lands after the American Revolution. In 1794 a road was constructed from Sodus Point to Phelps under the direction of Charles Williamson, an agent of the Pulteney Estate, facilitating inland agricultural settlement.[6] By the early nineteenth century, farms and small crossroads communities had developed inland from Lake Ontario, creating the population base necessary for organized religious societies.[7]

The establishment of a Baptist congregation in 1810 occurred within this broader pattern of frontier-era religious organization in newly settled agricultural communities.

Early Baptist congregation (1810–1823)

Baptists were among the early settler families in the Town of Sodus, and nineteenth-century local histories describe itinerant and local preaching in settlers’ homes during the town’s first decades of inland settlement.[8] A historic marker placed in 2024 states that the First Baptist congregation in Sodus was established on March 11, 1810, led by Seba Norton, and initially met in members’ homes before constructing a meeting house.[3]

Seba Norton and early Baptist organization

Lewis H. Clark’s nineteenth-century history of Sodus churches describes Elder Seba Norton, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War, as an early and influential Baptist preacher in the region.[9] According to Clark, Norton traveled extensively across settlements including Marion, Williamson, Arcadia, Lyons, and Sodus, preaching in schoolhouses and private homes prior to the construction of permanent church buildings.[10] Clark credits Norton with helping organize early Baptist believers in Sodus, laying the foundation for the later First Baptist Society that erected the Red Brick Church in the 1820s.[11]

Construction and nineteenth-century use (1824–1899)

According to the Town of Sodus Historical Society, the land for a chapel and burying ground was deeded to trustees of the “First Baptist Society of Sodus,” and construction began in 1824; the opening ceremony was held in July 1826.[4] The same marker inscription reports that the first meeting in the brick building occurred on July 15, 1826.[3] Local tradition recorded by the Historical Society states that the brick was made from locally sourced red clay.[4]

Nineteenth-century county histories describe the development of multiple religious societies in Sodus Center and the surrounding town as settlement expanded inland from Lake Ontario and the agricultural road network matured.[12]

Twentieth-century closure and preservation (1900–present)

A local historical account reproduced by the Town of Sodus Historical Society reports that the church was disbanded in 1926 after years of declining membership, and that Edward C. Delano purchased the property; the church and grounds then became the responsibility of the Sodus Center Baptist Rural Cemetery Association in 1927.[4] The building remains preserved and is used for occasional ceremonies and events according to the same source.[4]

Architecture

The Red Brick Church is listed by the National Park Service as a Federal-style building and was designated on the National Register of Historic Places under criteria that include architecture/engineering.[2] (As of February 2026, the National Register’s digital entry for this resource indicates that the full nomination PDF has not been digitized on NPGallery.)[2]

Cemetery

The cemetery adjoining the church is commonly referred to as Baptist Rural Cemetery and is also known historically as Brick Church Cemetery.[5] NYGenWeb’s Wayne County cemetery transcriptions identify the location at the corner of Brick Church Road and South Geneva Road and describe the cemetery as associated with the brick church.[5]

National Register of Historic Places

The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 8, 1997 (reference number 97001527).[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Asset Detail: Red Brick Church". National Park Service (National Register of Historic Places). Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  3. ^ a b c "EARLY CHURCH (Historic Marker)". William G. Pomeroy Foundation. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Red Brick Church Meeting House – Page". Town of Sodus Historical Society. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  5. ^ a b c "Brick Church Cemetery (now called Baptist Rural Cemetery), Part 1". NYGenWeb: Wayne County, New York. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  6. ^ "Early Settlement (1794–1811)". Town of Sodus Historical Society. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  7. ^ History of Wayne County, New York. Philadelphia: Everts, Ensign & Everts. 1877. pp. 165–170.
  8. ^ McIntosh, W. H. (1877). History of Wayne County, New York; with Illustrations Descriptive of Its Scenery, Palatial Residences, Public Buildings, Fine Blocks, and Important Manufactories. Philadelphia: Everts, Ensign & Everts. p. 168.
  9. ^ Clark, Lewis H. (1876). History of the Churches of Sodus (PDF). Sodus, N.Y. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  10. ^ Clark, Lewis H. (1876). History of the Churches of Sodus (PDF). Sodus, N.Y. p. 38. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  11. ^ Clark, Lewis H. (1876). History of the Churches of Sodus (PDF). Sodus, N.Y. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  12. ^ Cowles, George W., ed. (1895). "Chapter XVI: History of the Town of Sodus". Landmarks of Wayne County, New York (PDF). Syracuse, NY: D. Mason & Co. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
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