From the National Register application:
(
visit link)
"Location Information
(for the First Baptist Church of Bay St. Louis)
Name: First Baptist Church of Bay St. Louis
Address: 141 Main Street
City/County: Bay St. Louis, Hancock County
Architectural Information
Construction Date: 2007-2008
Architectural Styles(s): Eclectic/Composite
No. of Stories: 2
Registration Information
NR District Name: Old Bay St. Louis
NR Status: Non-Contributing
Roof: Gable"
From the Church website:
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visit link)
"The first record of a Baptist work in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi was a sermon preached by Reverend Benjamin Whitfield in February 1846. After that date, several unsuccessful attempts were made to begin a church. It was not until the formation of the First Baptist Church on April 19, 1896, that a successful Baptist church was organized. It is unfortunate that these records were lost and we have no record of our founding members, however, in November 1902, the Reverend C. L. Corwin was elected pastor at a yearly salary of $75. For this sum he preached two sermons a month. Until 1947, the church was located on the corner of Easterbrook and Toulme Streets. As long as the church remained at this location, services were held two times a month.
On February 4, 1945, the church accepted a deed for a lot to build a new church on Main Street next to the US Post Office. In 1947 the church purchased an Army chapel at Centreville, Mississippi for $1,250. The chapel was dismantled and rebuilt on the Main Street lot. On November 7, 1947, the church held its first services in its new location. The Army chapel served as the church sanctuary until heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. When the church relocated, it also went to a full-time program.
Following Hurricane Katrina (August 29, 2005) the church witnessed one of the greatest movements in the history of Bay St. Louis as thousands of Christian volunteers covered Hancock County and shared the love of Christ with the community through disaster relief efforts. During this time, the church served as a distribution center, a laundry, a doctor’s office, a feeding center, and a hotel for volunteers. Through it all, the church did not miss a single Sunday of sharing the gospel of Christ. The church ended its relief effort in October 2008.
At first we focused on restoring our church family and our surrounding community, but on February 15, 2009, we entered into our new worship center and began a new chapter in our service to God."
Text of historical marker in front of building:
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF BAY ST. LOUIS
First established a the Elim Baptist
Church in 1858, this congregation was
dissolved in 1877 and revitalized in
April 1896 as the First Baptist Church
under the leadership of Rev. O. D. Bowen.
The church moved to this location on Main
Street in October 1847 after purchasing
an army chapel from the surplus sale of
Camp Van Dorn, a U. S. Army training
base located in Centreville, Mississippi.
This chapel served the church through
hurricane Camille (1969) but had to be
replaced after hurricane Katrina (2005).
Mississippi Department of Archives and History, 2013