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Milton's Baptist Roots

Last year, I had the pleasure of assisting Milton's Don Sanford in the publication of what turned out to be his final book, A History of the Milton Seventh Day Baptist Church. Don, who passed away a few months after the book's release, was the longtime historian for the Seventh Day Baptist denomination, whose world headquarters quietly reside on Kennedy Road in Janesville.

On first blush, the book looks like it would only appeal to those in the denomination. However, anyone with a deep interest in the history of Milton will find some intriguing information lurking in there, regardless of their religious affiliation.

For example, the Milton SDB church and its leaders were directly responsible for the construction of the Milton House, the founding of Milton College, and the establishment of the village as a whole. So influential was the SDB church that for years, Milton was a dry community whose businesses were closed on Saturday (the SDB's Sabbath) rather than Sunday.

Joseph Goodrich, the pioneer who was responsible for the construction of the Milton House and Milton College, was a devout Seventh Day Baptist and the Milton church's site is on property originally belonging to him. The values that Goodrich shared with his fellow congregants made an obvious impact on the community as a whole. For example, at the time, the SDBs considered the use of alcohol “an unmitigated curse.” So unlike most inns, his Milton House did not serve alcohol, instead becoming known as a “temperance inn.”

The SDB denomination was also strongly abolitionist, officially denouncing slavery as “a violation of the laws of God and the rights of man.” It is no surprise, therefore, that Goodrich's Milton House was a stop on the Underground Railroad.

It may surprise some, however, to know the close affiliation Milton College had with the Seventh Day Baptists. As Don noted in his book, Milton College was never technically a denominational college, but five of its presidents were drawn from the SDB pastorate - the most recent being Kenneth Smith (1969-1973). In addition, many faculty members were church leaders, and at least 80 students went on to become SDB ministers themselves. In a 1925 Milton College yearbook that I own, the list of trustees is loaded with the last names of prominent SDB families both local and nationwide.

Particularly fascinating to me was a chapter in Don's book about the split that occurred in the church in 1876, when a significant part of the congregation left to form their own church in Milton Junction. At the time, Milton was characterized as a town of devout, educated teetotalers, while Milton Junction was the party town where the saloons were located. Some of this thinking was reflected in the division within the church, which was fueled in part by “town vs. gown” mentality and other socioeconomic conflicts.

The Milton Junction SDB Church eventually disbanded in 1977. Even thirty years later, Don worried that hard feelings might still exist among the former Junction churchgoers. He told me that one of his goals in including the Junction church in his book was to try to heal any lingering wounds.

The knowledge stored in Don's cranium boggled the mind of those around him. His death in March was truly a blow to the Milton community as well as the Seventh Day Baptist denomination. We are fortunate, however, that he was a prolific writer that left an amazing amount of invaluable information behind, including this book that serves as a fitting farewell from an amazing historian.