# The Legacy of Nashville's Black Churches

The historical marker honoring the six Black churches in Nashville—First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill (1848), Gay Street Christian Church (1859), Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church (1887), St.Andrews Presbyterian Church (1898), St. John AME Church (1863), and Spruce Street Baptist Church (1848)— recognizes their essential role in the city’s African American community. These Churches once all stood within ⅙ the of a mile of each other, at the heart of Nashville’s Black buisness district, until the Capitol Hill Redevelopment Program of the 1950s forced most of them to relocate. Despite this, five of the six churches continue to serve their communities, preserving a legacy of faith, religiosity, and activism. (1)
Many of these congregations trace their roots to the pre-Civil War era when African American worshippers, often excluded frm white churches, were forced to form their own religous worship spaces. [multiple citations from below]. Several began as mission churches or Sunday school classes affiliated with white congregations before gaining their independence to practice. By 1910, each had grown into a thriving institutional with membership in the thousands, functioning as both houses of worship and educational and social hubs. [multiple citations from below]

# Significance and Common Threads Among the Churches

Despire their individual histories, these churches share common themes that highlight their collective significance. Each would emerge as a response to racial segregation, allowing African American congregants with a personalized space for worship and community support. They also became important platforms for the Civil Rights efforts and the establishment of civil rights, allowing African American participants to organize and rally. These churches offered economic development and civic leadership….[multiple citations from below] While the forced relocations in the 1950s displaced many church members, the congregations persevered and stand strong today as a testament to their resilience and enduring impact on the city’s African American culture and history. [multiple citations from below]

# First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill (1848)
## Early Religious Beginnings (1780-1820)

In 1780, around 200 enslaved and free African Americans settled in Nashville's Fort Nashborough, planting the early seeds of Nashville's soon-to-be lively Afro-Baptist community. By 1787, these African Americans constituted 22% of the 477 settlers and by 1820, they grew to 35% of Davidson County’s population by 1820. While large in number, many enslaved and free African Americans were limited from religious participation. In the biracial Baptist and Methodist churches, they were allowed to restrictedly attend, and many were forced to sit far away from white attendees and take communion last.

## Formation of the First Baptist Church and the Early Black Congregation (1824-1852)

The First Baptist Church of Nashville (FBCN) was established in 1824 as the fist Baptist Church in the city. By 1834, African American attendants were 115 in number, accounting for nearly half of the congregation. The First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill claims to be the oldest operating African American Church in Tennessee, tracing its roots to the 1835 established First Baptist Colored Mission. Before this, Nashville enslaved and free Baptists worshipped at the First Baptist Church.
The church leadership was stern in its emphasis on obedience to their enslavers, further reinforcing the racial hierarchies that plagued the South. Incrementally though, African American congregants were able to practice within their self-curated worship groups. By 1835 they were allowed to lead separate prayer services and by 1847, they were allowed to rent old school buildings to worship on Sundays.

## First Colored Baptist Mission and Expansion (1848-1856)

In 1848, the First Colored Baptist Mission (FCBM) was established under the supervision of a white minister who received aid from freed Black preachers such as John Dodd, Nelson G. Merry, and Henry Howard. Nelson G. Merry— a former slave tutored by white ministers— becomes ordained as a minister in the Baptist Church on November 29 of 1853. However, white ministers still have authoritative oversight on church services.
By 1856, the Mission had over 200 congregants This number would continue to grow until the Union Army occupied Nashville on February 25, 1862, leading to Minister Merry’s imprisonment for allegedly preaching sedition against the United States government. He was released on time to celebrate the emancipation Proclamation with other church members on January 1, 1863.

## Civil War Era (1856-1865)

The growing African American Baptist Congregation faced many difficulties: a race riot in December of 1856 and restrictive city ordinances in 1857 limited congregants’s ability to gather and attend church. Eventually, the Union Army occupied Nashville in February 1862, leading to the imprisonment of Minister Merry.
The Baptist Church was still active during the wartime efforts. The Congregation held prayer meeting celebrating the Emancipation Proclamation (1863) and Tennessee’s abolition of slavery (1865). When the Civil War came to an end, the Mission members petitioned the First Baptist Church to become an independent church under the name First Colored Baptist Church, Nashville Tennessee.

## Post-Emancipation Growth and Institutional Development (1865-1895)

On August 13, 1865, the First Colored Baptist Church (FCBC) obtained its independence from First Baptist Church. The congregation, which now numbered at 500, was still led under Minister Nelson G. Merry and would be under his leadership until his death in 1884. By 1872, the FCBC had grown to over 3,000 members and constructed its edifice on Spruce Street.
After Minister Merry’s death in 1884, many inter-congregation tensions led to factions emerging within the Spruce Street Baptist Church.In 1887, Rev. Tom R. Huffman led the dissident Spruce Street parishioners and formed the Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church. Furthermore, a fire that destroyed the Spruce Street Church in 1892 led to more tensions over the congregation’s use of proceeds from the church’s fire insurance. Differing opinions about where this money should be invested led to one fraction leaving the Spurce Street Church and re-establishing itself as the First Colored Baptist Church, Capitol Hill in 1895.

## 20th-Century Activism and the Civil Rights Movement Involvement

For its hundreds of regular church attendants, the First Colored Baptist Church, Capitol Hill established a new church building on Eighth Avenue and continued to provide spiritual guidance throughout the early 20th century. Under the leadership of Rev. Kelly Miller Smith, the church supported the campaign to desegregate Nashville public schools in the 1950s, arranged the Nashville sit-in Movement in 1960, and launched the Freedom Rides in 1961. Active in the Civil Rights Movement, the church also hosted Dr.Martin Luther King multiple times and even became one of the few racially integrated churches in the South due to its acceptance of white Baptists as valid congregates.
On October 28, 1965, the 500+ congregation voted to amend its 1865 charter and drop the word “Colored” from its official church title. From that point on, it would be known as First Baptist Church Capitol Hill (FBCCH). Rev. Smith even advocated for merging with the predominately white First Baptist Church of Nashville, although the latter was not interested in this proposition.

## Urban Renewal and the Church’s Legacy (1972-Present)

In 1972, multiple urban renewal projects displaced many of Nashville’s historic Black churches, forcing FBCCH to relocate from its 1865 building to 900 James Robertson Parkway. While Rev. Smith passed away in 1984 and the congregation continued to face rocky leadership transitions and internal factions, the congregation remained committed to its mission of worship and community.
On June 1, 2024, the church welcomed its 21st pastor, the Rev. Shane B. Scott. His induction included an address from Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, who spoke about the church’s turbulent yet resilient legacy and its role in unifying the African American community. The ceremony also included a performance by the choir and the Deacon Sunny Owunnah presenting the new Rev. with a pastor to commemorate new beginnings.
Today, the First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill continues to uphold its legacy as a cornerstone of Nashville’s African American Baptist community. The church meets at 625 Rosa L. Parks Boulevard, across from the Tennessee State Capitol Building, with a congregation of around 600 members.

# Gay Street Christian Church (1859)
## Origins and Early Development (1855 - 1891)

The Gay Street Christian Church, originally known as the “Colored Christian Church” was founded in 1855 as the African American congregation of the Vine Street First Christian Church. Before the Civil War, both enslaved and free African Americans attended church services alongside white congregants, although they remained segregated during certain religious practices such as communion. By 1849, the Vine Street congregation included 546 members and approximately half identified as “Colored”.
In 1859, a large Christian Sunday school with about 200 students, led by Peter Lowery, was officially constituted as an independent Christian congregation. Initially known as Grapevine Christian Church, this group met in West Nashville on land that was owned by General William G. Harding. The congregation moved multiple times, first to Seventh Avenue South in a brick house owned by Peter Lowery and later to the corner of Vine and Crawford Avenues, where it became known as the Second Christian Church. Eventually, the congregation relocated to Gay Street and was renamed Gay Street Christian Church

## Preston Taylor’s Leadership and Church Schism (1884-1891)

Preston Taylor, a prominent African American religious leader and businessman, arrived in Nashville in 1884, where he quickly rose to prominence in the church and Black business community. He was born into slavery in 1849 in Shreveport, Louisiana, and served as a drummer boy in the Union Army during the Civil War before moving north and settling in Nashville. While a minister, Taylor also worked as a successful entrepreneur, establishing the Taylor Funeral Company in 1888 and founding the Greenwood Cemetery, one of Nashville’s oldest Black cemeteries.
Taylor was appointed the minister of Gay Street Christian Church, where he led the congregation through a bustling period of growth. However, in 1891, a doctrinal controversy arose within the church, leading Taylor and a faction of the congregation to break away to worship in an office building on Spruce Street (now Eighth Street). They then constructed their own church building on Lea Avenue near Lafayette Street in 1903. Taylor remained the head pastor of this congregation for 40 years until he died in 1931.

## Formation of Gay-Lea Christian Church and the Legacy (1931-present)

Following Taylor’s passing in 1931, the two separate congregations — the original Gay Street Christian Church and Taylor’s breakaway congregation— reunited to form Gay-Lea Christian Church. This newly unified Church later became known as the New Covenant Christian Church, signifying its necessary evolution to serve Nashville’s African American religious community. The church relocated to Osage Street, where it continues to serve as a spiritual and historical cornerstone. The histories of Gay Street Church and later Gay-Lea Christian Church reflect the broader struggles and triumphs of Nashville’s African American Christian community.