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Calvary Baptist Church of Boston, Massachusetts collection, 1904-2005

 Collection
Identifier: MSS-Chu-MA-1

Scope and Contents

Calvary Baptist Church of Boston, Massachusettes collection spans the years 1904 to 2005 over five boxes.

There are several hundred membership cards listing members' contact and personal information kept by the church. The membership folder holds a directory, as well as a calendar from 1952 listing members' birthdays.

The legal and financial documents folders primarily deal with the ownership and construction of the church buildings from Shawmut Avenue and Ashmont Street.

The contents of the correspondence folder and the papers from inside ledgers folder were both found inside the bound ledgers, primarily from inside the cover of the Svenska Templet newsletter.

Most of the photographs were too large for folders and are placed loose into the boxes. The majority of the photographs are unlabeled pictures of groups of people or individuals.

The blueprints are from 1935 for the Ashmont Street building.

The trophy is engraved "Presented to The Pi Theta Class by The Baraca Class Commemorating the Race to Palestine July 3rd 1915." The plaque from the organ reads "Presented by Mr. and Mrs. C.W.L. Anderson in memory of their children Carl Edward and Edith Cecelia April 26, 1936."

Dates

  • 1904 - 2005

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for researcher use.

Historical Note

First Swedish Baptist Church of Boston was organized in 1875 under Pastor Lauritz Johanson as a mission under Tremont Temple. When Trempont Temple suffered a fire in 1879, the church met in Freeman Hall until it was rebuilt in 1896. In 1903, they purchased a building on Shawmut Avenue from Tufts College. They named the building Svenska Templet. In 1935, the church moved to Whiton Hall in Dorchester until the church at 286 Ashmont Street was completed in 1936. In 1949, the church was renamed Calvary Baptist Church. Between 2011 and 2019, the church was renamed Calvary Community Church. In 2023, the church closed.

Extent

5 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

English

Swedish

Arrangement

Original order has been lost inside folders and for photographs. The membership cards are kept in the order in which they were donated.

Custodial History

This collection was sent via mail to the History Center by Pastor Michael Ferrini in February 2023.

Title
Calvary Baptist Church of Boston, Massachusetts collection, 1904-2005
Author
Rebekah Bain
Date
March 2023
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the The History Center: Archives of Bethel University and Converge Repository

Contact:
3900 Bethel Drive
Arden Hills MINNESOTA 55112 United States