Evening star., 1932-02-28

Reu. DR.. Stephen c. Hill, pastor of First
Baptist Church. 1850 to 1860.
the congregation. At this time the church
owned a lot street between Eighth and
Ninth. A lot belonging to Nicholas Travers on
street between Twelfth and Thirteenth,
seemed to suit them better, and an exchange
was offered, but not accepted, as the minutes
OF June IL show, saying in substance that
being disappointed in the exchange, of the lot
with Mr.. Travers, they had exchanged the D
street lot for lot No. 10, i'll square 377 which
Is the lot upon which now stands the building
made historic through the assassination there
OF Abraham Lincoln on the evening of April
IA, 1865.
Apparently Mr.. Brown and his flock worked
very fast when once they started, for in the
same minutes we told that the walls Of
the house are already carried up about IA feet
from the foundation. However, the pace must
have been too fast, for the church was not
used for the first time until year hence June
26, 1884.
When the BaptiStS first began preaching here
and for many years afterward, they had q
number of colored members-as had ALL or
practically ALL OF the religious denominations
OF that period-and it the increasingly
large number of the coored brethren, perhaps
more than anything else, that brought about
the idea of moving from their old home at
Nineteenth and I streets, which was sold to
the colored BaptiStS on June Z, 1888, for 81 200
with $500 more pledged to be raised by sub
scription However, DR.. Porter, present pastor
of the First Baptist Church. says that the pay
ments of these amounts were generously
waived and that the church finally repre-
sented a gift to the colored Baptists. OF
course, little of the original church remains
standing, in fact, TIE corner stone bears this
inscription:
18th Street Baptist Church,
Organized August 1885,
Rebuilt April, 1871"
In 1853 according to the record, "a number
Of brethren, principally from E Street Church,
became associated under Rev. T. c. Teasdall,
for the purpose Of forming a new interest.
They were so far successful as to increase to
q considerable church and congregation, and
to erect commodious house of worship on
Thirteenth street"
THOUGH officially the Fourth Baptist
Church" yet few early washingtonians
know it by that name. 1t was generally spoken
of as the Thirteenth Street Baptist Church.
But by whatever name We may call 1t, for
several years, at least the congregation was
quite successful and succeeded in erecting
very nice building which stood for many years,
and was used by the church until about 1890.
1t stood where is the old Builders Ex-
change Building to the south of the alley, on
Thirteenth street, near the telephone ONCE.
Prior to 1859, as a result of indebtedness and
lack of support effort made by the
Thirteenth street church to merger its inter-
est and identity with the Tenth street church,
but the First Baptist could not be brought to
terms and for the time being efforts along this
line ceased.
In the year mentioned, the Thirteenth street
church again brought the matter up and 1t
was substantially agreed by that church TO
turn over to the First Baptist its right title
and interest in its property, and the latter
agreed to assume tie formers liabilities. This
being done, all the members of the Thirteenth
street body were given certificates of demission
and upon these, such members as desired to
do were admitted to membership in the
surviving mother church.
AS there was no need for two churches, the
Tenth street building was offered for sale, and
in The Star OF July 8, 1859, appeared the fol-
lowing advertisement
Church Building for Sale-The First Baptist
Church intends either to improve their present
house Of worship to erect new one on an
other lot; they therefore offer for sale, the
building and lot now occupied by the church on
Tenth street between and F, lot 10, square
377. The lot fronts So feet Tenth street.
and runs back lot feet inches to a 3o-foot
alley. The house is built in the most substantial
or for conversion into dwelling houses. For
terms inquire until the 25th of June Of Isaac
Clarke. corner Of H and Eighth streets"
Apparently was not the easiest thinx to
sell church pvcp~rtv h'~t 81 that tsr,. vh~r