Community site: MillbrookChristianFellowship.com
New Building Project at Millbrook
Let's start with a little church history
It is unfortunate that the history of the Grafton Christian Church is not as well preserved as one might hope or expect. What is known is that the church building, or meetinghouse, was constructed by John Kimball in 1798, just twenty years after the town of Grafton was incorporated. At that time it was known as the Center Baptist Church. In 1856 the building was sold to Alexander Williams for $12. It was then moved across the street from the Green, enlarged, and remodeled. The upper section was used as the sanctuary and the lower section for a town hall. This dual arrangement continued for over one hundred years, until the 1960's, when the town took over one of the old school houses and it became the new town hall. In 1980, the spire was added to the top of the existing bell tower. The belfry and the bell were probably added in the mid 1800's after the building became the property of Alexander Williams. No record is known of what the building originally looked like before it was moved from the Green and remodeled though the search continues.
Many reorganizations have taken place over the years; along with Center Baptist Church, it has been known as the Christian, Christian Congregational, and Congregational Christian Church. Because of the great length of the official name: Grafton Center Congregational Christian Church, in 1999 the name was for practical purposes shortened to the name that has become common usage amongst the townspeople, The Grafton Center Church, but as of the year 2000, the name was again changed to Grafton Christian Church.
Millbrook is now affiliated with the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference.
In the summer of 2004, a tract of land on Route 4 in East Grafton was purchased as the proposed site of a new worship and ministry facility. In 2006, the ground was prepared for the new building, and in the summer of 2007, Maranatha Custom Churches of Jamestown, ND, erected the steel skeleton and sheathed it with super-insulated paneling. In the summer of 2008, Kevin McCullough, general contractor, and his crew began the work of completing the interior and exterior of the building.
On November 29, 2009, the Cross, the communion service, and the pulpit Bible were ceremonially removed from the old building in Grafton Center and taken to the new building in East Grafton. At that time the name of the church was changed from Grafton Christian Church to MillBrook Christian Fellowship.
Our first service of worship at the new building was conducted on December 6, 2009.
Stay tuned for further updates!
Check out these links to follow the progress of the new building project: