First Baptist Church Bell Tower - Boonville, MO - Bell Towers on Waymarking.com

County of church: Cooper County
Location of church Main St. & Locust St., Boonville
Built: 1889
Architectural Style: Gothic Revival
Phone: (660) 882-6404

"Our First Baptist Church has a rich historical heritage. It was one of the earliest churches in Boonville. A group of interested citizens established our congregation on December 30,1843. The first church building was erected in 1847 at 518 Vine Street. Following the erection of our present sanctuary in 1889 the Vine Street building was acquired by the Turners, a local German athletic singing society and was known as Turner Hall.

"Our church was the mother church of the Morgan Street Baptist Church when in November of 1865, fifty-two of the black members established their own church.

"In 1943 we celebrated our centennial and compiled a history of the first 100 years. In 1962 we held a tent meeting and a Bible School in West Boonville which led to holding weekly services at Mrs. Annie White's Riverview Roller Rink at the east end of Harley Park. By 1963 we had built a church building on West Spring Street and on December 29, 1963 our first mission was constituted as the Santa Fe Trail Baptist Church.

"To our present building on Main Street, a basement, including a kitchen, was added at the rear in 1917. Five years later the educational annex was added and the new educational building was completed in 1952." ~ by Bob Long on MoGenWeb

"Built: 1889
Style/Design: Gothic
The main block of the structure is 5 bays deep and has a 3 story tower at the NE corner and a 2 story tower at the SE corner. Buttresses accent the corners and separate the bays. The gable end is to the street. It has a raking corn1ce with medallions and a large center bay stained glass window. Over the bay is a segmentally arched name panel. All openings have soldier course lintle and follow the pointed arch motif. There are 2 additions, Extending to the W is an early gable roofed brick section which is 7 bays deep. There is an entrance to the Nand 3 bays and an entrance to the W. Openings in this section have double rowlock, segmentally arched headers.
In 1952, a large brick section, Education Building was added to the S. It has 3 bays on the E & W and 11 bays on the S. Windows have corbelled sills, but no headers. They have 2-over2 horizontal lights. There is a 1st story entrance to the S.

"The first Baptist Church of Jesus Christ in Boonville organized in 1843 and met for 4 years "in the school room of Mr. Bronaugh." In 1847 the congregation built their first house of worship located at 518 Vine Street. The church remained the property of the Baptists until their second and present church was dedicated in 1889. Originally the church was of Gothic design containing a three part stained glass window and impressive entrance towers; the NE tower was 3 stories and the SE tower was 2 stories. In 1889 additional hitching posts appeared to the rear of the church to accommodate the growing congregation. In 1892 the church sold their old church bell and charged admission to the dedication to pay for their first pipe organ. This organ was replaced by a Wicks pipe organ in 1958. In 1905 fire caused $1500 damage to the building and furnishings. A new sidewalk replaced the original brick sidewalk and a retaining wall to the N side of the church was added in 1911. In 1912 a basement with a kitchen was built to the rear of the church. In 1922 the educational annex was built to the south of the church with an additional expansion in 1952. The dates for the removal of the tower roofs are unknown. To date the congregation has employed 39 pastors, the present pastor is Rev. Mel Lanz.

"The structure sits on an embankment and faces E onto Main. Alleys are to the N & W. There is a large parking lot to the W. No outbuildings are associated with this property." ~ Boonville Historic Survey  PDF pages 2008-2011