First Baptist Church

1st Location   S. Carroll St. on the square
Built 1854 (Dedicated September 3, 1854)
Destroyed


2nd Location   N. Carroll St & W. Dayton St.
Built
Destroyed


Current Location   518 N Franklin Ave.
Built

First Baptist Church July 29, 1900. It started out well. The congregation dedicated an $18,000 white brick sanctuary. It was a wonderful building, at North Carroll and West Dayton streets, and it featured a pine interior, a pipe organ and two large stained-glass windows. At 9 p.m., a bolt of lightning struck the church. It burned down to its foundation. In the life of a church, as in the life of its members, there are good days and bad days. First Baptist built an $11,000 church on the Capitol Square and used the building for 45 years before building the ill-fated white-brick structure. After the fire, the congregation rebuilt the church, dedicating the $16,861building in 1902. Present building at 518 N. Franklin Ave. was built in 1950 for $148,000. First Baptist now has 430 members. Pastors: George Young, 1852 William Henry Brisbane, 1861 Frederic Tower Galphin,1904 Robert Towner, 1955 to 1963 Andrew Davison, 1963-1981 Paul Gillespie, 1982-1989 Mark Clinger, 1990-Present(2007)