Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-10-20
THE SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH.
Its History and ProEress-wOrk of
Raising the Necessary Funds.

Nearly fifty years ago a company of be-
levers were dismissed by the First Baptist
Church, colored. corner o. 18th and X
streets northwest, for the purpose of or
ganlZing the Second Baptist Church. The
new organization began its existence ON h
street between 9TH and Sth streets north
west, with Lcentlate H. Fl. Butler as it's
spiritual leader. Mr.. Butler remained only
a year, and in 1919 Rev. jeremiah Asher.
a regularly ordained minister, became its
first pastor. The church had found a new
home on Capitol Hin. Stree that time il
has had a number of pastors, and each pas
tor changed the place of worship, until the
present site, on 81 street northwest between
II and /. as secured in 1SJ6 From Rev.
Mr.. Asher's incumbency ny to the present
minister the following clergymen OBLIGATED,
viz: Rev. Gustavus Brown. Rev. Mr.. But
Ter again, Rev. Sandy Alexander, Rev. Ca
leb Woodgard, Rev. Chancery Leonard.
Rev. John Gaines. Rev. Madison Gaskins.
and in 1884 the present minister, Dr. John
son, was appointed. The present pastor,
William Bishop Johnson, u. D., was born
in 1886 at Toronto, Canada. He entered the
ministry In 1870, and was called TO the First
Baptist Church, FIR derrick, Md, in 1879.
In ISL the American Baptist Home Mission
Society appointed him one of its general
missionaries, and in 1874 he took posses
sion of his present incumbency. Largely
push the church has advanced from a men,
bership of 100 to loo. and last week laid
the corner ston, of fine new e1ifice
The new building fronts 81 feet on Sd
street and has depth Of ~ feet. The first
hoor Is on a level with the street, and is
devoted 10 the main Sunday school and in
FAINT department, which can be thrown to-
gether by sliding screens. In the Sabbath
school room the baptistry is also located.
All the conveniences of a modern church
ouch as parlor. kitchen and library. occupy
ihe remainder Of this floor. On the second
floor is the main auditorium, with a gallery
across the rear. Ii will accommodate an
audi snce OF fully a thousand. 4 large pipe
organ occupies one SIDE of the pulpit, with
a choir room, sufficient in size for thirty
singers The pulpit stands in a large semi
'ircular archway, the blck wall of which
VIII be filled with good-siZed and beautiful
cathedral rindow. The ceiling of the room
is an Ornamental feature, the trusses of the
roof showing partly through, with the pam
els filled with wood tracery.
The entire front of the building and sides
OF tower are u nc. of white Indiana lime
stone, with the roofs covered with Spanish
tiles. Each tower has an entrance through
1t. and both are covered with gabled
porches supported by richly carved col
unns. In the center of the front a beauti-
ful feature is formed by large bay, with
pinnacles on each SIDE, and ending in a
gable at the top. A large cathedral window
occupies the front of the bay, with a ira
Gerry rose window at the top, set in Gothic
arch.
The south tower is carried up to a height
Of ll2 feet, with an open belfry of stone in
the top. and pinnacle5 on each corner. The
building is TO he heated with steam, and
thoroughly equipped with modern APP
planes.
The church was designed by Appleton p
Clark, jr., an architect who stands in the
front rank of his profession, not only in
this city, but in others. Nicholas Eckhardt
is under contract to erect the church, at a
cost Of S20,sp.
Work of Raising the Necessary Funds.
In the getting together OF the money
necessary to build the church DR.. Johnson
demonstrated his abilities as an organizer
He formed finance committee, and they
Immediately set to work to devise the ways
and means to obtain the needed amount
By the aid of f;irs, lectures and collections
the money has been nearly all secured. The
credit of this work belongs to Pastor John
son ard his co-workers of the committee as
follows, viz: Messrs. w. b. johnson, chair
man: James F. Bundy, Lewis Collins. A. F..
Hicks, Wilson Smith, George L. Brown,
Wesley Brown. Abraham Rawles, c. p
Purefoy, Scott Luckett. Joshua Carey, Mat
thew Brown, Peter Wilkins. James Gas
kns, Noble Ware, Stewart Minor, J. F. Da-
Wis, Austin Tickling, ]. T. c. Newsome
Austin Robinson, Jonn Mart. Iudwell
Parker, Robert Scott, William NJ Reeves
Spencer Norris, William II. Young Aaron
Cosiey and James Hester.