Epistle to the Ephesians (Ephesians 2:20) - Mount Gilead Baptist Church - Fort Worth, TX - Etched in Stone on Waymarking.com

The side of the cornerstone facing the staircase off of E 5th St reads:

Built upon the foundation of the Apostles
and Prophets, Christ Jesus himself
being the Chief Corner Stone. Eph.2:20

L.K. Williams, Pastor.

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The King James Version's verbiage of Ephesians 2:19-20 is:

19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

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This historic church greets visitors coming into Downtown Fort Worth from Spur 280. Despite its historicity, the church has no website of their own, and while their Facebook page is very active socially, it provides no history. The BlackPast.org website (see below) comes to the rescue, with some really good reading. It notes that Mount Gilead is the oldest continuously operating African-American Baptist Church in Fort Worth, established in 1875 by twelve freedmen who built a small sanctuary just a few blocks from here. Over time, it became a virtual megachurch, the "mother church of Fort Worth black Baptists." Today, the congregation is much smaller, and the church has survived acquisition attempts that may have resulted in its demolition to pave the way for more "progress" here in Downtown.

The brick, Neo-Classical sanctuary itself opened up in 1913, and it was designed by black architect Wallace Rayfield. It features a pipe organ, elaborate opera chairs in the balcony, and "the first indoor baptismal" in Texas. Its design has a sense of community purpose, as it includes a law library, classrooms, a cafeteria, a gym, and even a swimming pool to provide respite during the days of Jim Crow. The Architecture in Fort Worth website notes J.W.O. Guinn and B.W. Owens as the contractors, indicating that Mr. Rayfield was a "contributing architect" and mentioning Sanguinet & Staats as the architects, so who actually did what is apparently a matter of discussion.

Address: 600 Grove St, Fort Worth, TX 76201 Website: [Web Link]

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