First Baptist Church
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)