First Baptist Church (Toronto)
First Baptist Church was founded in Toronto, Ontario in 1826. It is both the first Baptist congregation in Toronto and the oldest black institution in the city. Formed by fugitive enslaved persons, the church played a large role in the abolitionist movement, including hosting lectures against slavery and offering aid to fugitives. In its long history, the church's location has changed multiple times. Today it holds service at 101 Huron Street. History. The church was formed by 12 fugitive enslaved persons in 1826, under the leadership of Elder Washington Christian. Reverend Christian was a former  enslaved individual who established multiple Baptist churches in Canada. It had not been possible to attend existing white churches because the fugitives were required to have a letter from their old church and to pay their old slave masters for the money lost due to their escape. At first, services were held outside or in the homes of members of the church. Reverend Christian rented a masonic temple in 1827. Although some white congregants attended the black church's services, a church for white members was established in 1829. There were reportedly 66 members of the First Baptist Church in  1837. In the same year, a visitor noted that half the congregation was white, half was black. In 1841, the congregation moved to its first permanent location after being gifted land by the family of Squires McCutcheon to build a church at Queen Street and Victoria Street. Soon after, white members left for a different Baptist church. In 1843, Elder Washington Christian went to Jamaica for two years, returning with enough raised funds to pay off the new church's mortgage. The location was known as "First Coloured Calvinistic Baptist Church" or "Queen Street Coloured Baptist Church." In 1905, it  relocated to University Avenue and Edward Street, at which point it was known as "University Avenue Baptist Church".The name "First Baptist Church" began being used in the 1940s. The church relocated to its current address at Huron Street and D'Arcy Street in 1955. The previous property was sold to Shell Oil Company and the building was demolished. In 2000, baptized membership was approximately 140 and about the same number attended Sunday church services.