JFW
Historic Wakefield church will be torn down after devastating fire
WAKEFIELD ”” For generations, the First Baptist Church stood at the heart of this town north of Boston, its white steeple rising high above a classic New England common on the shore of Lake Quannapowitt.
On Wednesday, just hours after a massive fire ignited by a lightning strike engulfed the 1872 church, residents gathered in disbelief as workers dismantled the charred remains under drizzling skies. One item that survived: a painting of Jesus, virtually unmarked by fire, smoke, or water.