On April 12, 1839, eight people met in the Leslie schoolhouse and organized the First Baptist Church. Elijah K. Grout, a charter member, became the church’s first pastor in November 1841. Between 1856 and 1858 this church, the first built in Leslie, was constructed. In 1887-88 the building was raised, and a basement was built. The exterior was then clad with brick, giving the building its present Gothic Revival appearance. In 1966 a wooden cross replaced the church’s spire.