Palmer, a local builder, spent seven years in New York as a carpenter and in 1874 returned to his hometown, where he designed and erected many buildings until his death in 1904. The vibrant wood-frame church has pointed-arched windows, but references to Gothic are otherwise slim. Designed for the largest congregation in town, the structure openly announced the prominence of the Baptists. Directly across from it is the Palmer-Chowning house (1875, Charles H. Palmer; Watling Street, south side), which has a basic foursquare form and plan enlivened with a decorative porch.