1906 - First Baptist Church - Memphis TN - Dated Buildings and Cornerstones on Waymarking.com

This gorgeous church building stands at the corner of Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in South Lauderdale St. in East Memphis.

Built as First Baptist Church in 1906, the building was sold to an African-American congregation and became Mount Olive Cathedral C. M. E. Church in 1947.

The historical marker in front of the church building reads as follows:

"4E 130

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH

The First Baptist Church was designed by architect R. H. Hunt and built in 1906. It is constructed of yellow bricks along a Georgian architectural style. It housed a congregation of 2,200 members which organized the first Sunday School in the Southern Baptist Convention. In 1907, when this building was dedicated, it was considered one of the finest Baptist Church structures in the South.

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MT. OLIVE CME CHURCH

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Founded in 1848, Mount Olive Cathedral Christian Methodist Episcopal church, an African-American congregation under the leadership of the Rev. W. A. Johnson, purchased this building from First Baptist Church in 1947. In 1950, 2 years before the congregation moved into its new building, the Rev. Johnson died at his funeral was held at the First Baptist Church. Under the guidance of the Rev. Philip E. Brooks, Senior, in 1952, the congregation moved to this location.

Tennessee historical commission"

Year of construction: 1906 Cross-listed waymark: [Web Link] Full inscription: FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH Erected 1906. Organized 1839

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