A Rich Past Spanning Nearly
Three Centuries. ​

Our historical roots go back a long way, to colonial America in 1735, to be precise. The church was founded by Benjamin Marsh and Thomas Green (Dr. Green would go on two years later with a group to establish Greenville Baptist Church,  Greenville Baptist Church, which is also still an active congregation today). Marsh would lead the First Baptist for over 40 years (still the longest tenure), seeing the church grow in life and vigor from the events of the  Great Awakening. The church sponsored George Whitefield as he spoke in the region and shared the Gospel to New England.
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The first building was erected in 1750 at the corner of Hutchinson and Boston Roads. The British Army burned it down as they came through Sutton. Shortly after Rev. Marsh's passing, the church was partially dissolved due to the wars in America. Still, the members reorganized the church in 1785, and elder Ebenezer Lamson was chosen as the new pastor. The second building was built on Freeland Hill, and this building had no steeple or bell.  In 1792, Rev. William Batchellor, the First Baptist pastor, organized the Second Baptist Church/Manchaug Baptist Church in South Sutton.

​First Baptist outgrew their second building within ten years and started the process of building the current structure. The Manchaug Baptist Church would eventually be given the second meetinghouse building of First Baptist and moved for their use in 1842 to Manchaug Village between the West Millbury and Sutton Roads, serving today as home to the Sutton Historical Society.
 
​The church has held many names over its nearly 300-year existence: The Baptist Meeting House, First Baptist Church, West Sutton Baptist Church, Sutton Baptist Church, and Legacy Church.
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The current sanctuary building (our third) was built in 1829 and seated 250 people with a balcony (190 today) and the fellowship hall and classrooms addition in 1959. In the summer of 2018, Legacy Church at FBC Sutton became one of the first two New England revitalizations sponsored by the North American Mission Board.

Our History of Pastors

1. Benjamin Marsh, 1735–1775 (40 Years)
2. Thomas Green, 1735–1737 (2 Years)
3. Ebenezer Lamson, 1785–1794 (9 Years)
4. William Batchellor, 1794–1799 (5 Years)
5. Samuel Waters, 1799–1825 (26 Years)
6. Moses Harrington, 1825–1831 (6 Years)
7. John Walker, 1831–1836 (5 years)
8. L. B. Cole, 1836–1837 (1 Year)
9. Charles H. Peabody, 1837–1840 (3 Years)
10. Otis Converse, 1840–1842 (2 Years)
11. Samuel Richards, 1842–1843 (1 Year)
12. George Deland, 1843–1846 (3 Years)
13. Job B. Boomer, 1846–1849 (3 Years)
14. G. W. Benton, 1849–1850 (1 Year)
15. J. Thayer, 1850–1852 (2 Years)
16. Lorenzo O. Lovell, 1852–1859 (7 Years)
17. O. Crane, 1859–1860 (1 Year)
18. J. D. Donovan, 1860–1862 (2 Years)
19. David Avery, 1862–1863 (1 Year)
20. C. L. Baker, 1863–1864 (1 Year)
21. J. Barber, 1864–1865 (1 Year)

22. Gilman Stone, 1865–1868 (3 Years)
23. N. Medbury, 1868–1869 (1 Year)
24. A. E. Battlle, 1869–1872 (4 Years)
25. J. H. Tilton, 1871–1873 (2 Years)
26. E. J. Stevens, 1872–1873 (1 Year)
27. Charles F. Myers, 1873–1876 (3 Years)
28. E. J. Stevens, 1876–1877 (1 Year)
29. Joel P. Chapin, 1877–1880 (3 Years)
30. Charles Newhall, 1880–1885 (5 Years)
31. Albert Green, 1885–1888 (3 Years)
32. Benjamin Tuck, 1888–1891 (3 Years)
33. William D. MacKinnon, 1892–1897 (5 Years)
34. Charles B. Williams, 1897–1900 (3 Years)
35. Fred F. Thayer, 1900–1902 (2 Years)
36. Leopold Sharf, 1901–1903 (2 Years)
37. Arthur Davis, 1903–1906 (3 Years)
38. Joseph J. Theakston, 1906–1910 (4 Years)
39. Allan H. Bissell, 1910–1912 (2 Years)
40. Frederick Webb, 1912–1915 (3 Years)
​​​41. O.D. Thomas, 1915–1916 (1 Year)
42. H.Y. Vinal, 1916–1920 (4 Years)​

43. J.D. Matthews, 1920–1922 (2 Years)
44. Leonard Smith, 1922–1925 (3 Years)
45. Sydney Cahoon, 1925-1926 (1 Year)
46. A.C. Krane, 1926–1927 (1 Year)
47. Kenneth Hatch, 1927–1928 (1 Year)
48. Henry Schwab, 1928–1936 (8 Years)
49. Fred Bopp, 1936–1937 (1 Year)
50. Vernon D. Byron, 1937–1942 (5 Years)
51. Lee L. Burton, 1942–1944 (2 Years)
52. Warren C. Young, 1944–1947 (3 Years)
53. Lewis F. Hall, 1947–1954 (7 Years)
54. Arthur Darby, 1954–1962 (8 Years)
55. John Olson, 1962–1965 (3 Years)
56. Everett Nickerson, 1965–1967 (2 Years)
57. Willard Smith, 1968–1969 (1+ Years)
58. C. Vaughn Overman 1969–1972 (3 Years)
59. Charles Pentland, 1969–82 (13 Years)
60. Lloyd Yeagle, 1982–1992 (9 years)
61. S.H. Hartman, 1992–1997 (5 Years)
62. Edward J. Pentland, 1997–2017 (20 Years)
63. Donald J. McKinnon, 2017–