History:

"In Otsego County, sometime between 1775-1776 were planted two centers of religious influence in the unbroken wilderness west of the Catskills. One was a single family of whites, the other Indians. In 1793, there were only three Baptist ministers west of Albany. By 1798, fifteen were laboring. Nearly all were connected with the Otsego Association, the mother of us all. Their work was of a missionary character. While others cleared away the forests, these men of Christ did a yet greater work, as many churches and the marvelous results of their labors furnish ample evidence. This work they did amid trials and self-denials to which we are strangers."



"The causes which led to the establishment of a Christian interest in Edmeston date back to the winter of 1845-46. At that time our brethren of the Methodist Church held a series of meetings which resulted in the conversion of many souls. Among these converts were some who felt that the ordinances and organization of the Methodist Church would not satisfy their consciences nor accord with their views of the Scripture teaching. Yet they desired a home among the people of God here in Edmeston; and felt reluctant to join churches so far removed as Taylor Hill (five miles) or Burlington (seven miles). (For some of us today it will be hard to visualize a time when there were no side-walks, hard roads, lights, oil lamps, bicycles, automobiles, radios, or airplanes, and no houses on North Street. There were just a few houses on the hill. Shoes were a rarity. The custom was to carry your shoes until you came in sight of the church, then wear them just for the church service. A calico dress was the Sunday best. Many had no underwear. The clothing was homespun from wool). After much prayer, yet with trembling, a little band of brethren decided to organize a church here and leave the results to the Great Shepherd. Accordingly, May 30, 1846, ten brethren and eleven sisters met at the Methodist Church and organized the Second Baptist Church in Edmeston, New York."