Avenue L Baptist Church - Galveston, TX - This Old Church on Waymarking.com

The Avenue L Baptist Church, one of the oldest black churches in Texas, grew from the slave membership of the First Baptist Church of Galveston. The slaves were organized under the name Colored Baptist Church in 1840 by the Rev. James Huckins.qv By the early 1850s they had left First Baptist to worship in a separate building, known as the Africa Baptist Church. In 1855 First Baptist trustees Gail Borden, Jr., John S. Sydnor,qqv and Huckins purchased land from the Galveston City Company for use by the congregation. After the Civil Warqv the property was formally deeded to the members, who were reorganized under Rev. Israel S. Campbellqv as the First Regular Missionary Baptist Church in 1867. The present name was adopted during the pastorate of Rev. P. A. Shelton around 1903. Other prominent pastors have included Rev. H. M. Williams (1904-33), who served as moderator of the Lincoln District Baptist Association and had the task of rebuilding the church after the Galveston hurricane of 1900;qv Rev. G. L. Prince (1934-56), who later served as president of the National Baptist Convention of America and Mary Allen College in Crockett, Texas; and Rev. R. E. McKeen (1957-78), who also served as moderator of the Lincoln District Association. Construction of the present brick church began in 1916 and was completed at a cost of $18,000. In 1973 the church began renovations that included the installation of air-conditioning and heating and the refurbishing of the stained-glass windows. A historical marker was placed at the church site in 1981. Rev. Andrew W. Berry was elected pastor in 1984. In 1993 the church had more than 200 members.

Date the Church was built, dedicated or cornerstone laid: 01/01/1905 Age of Church building determined by?: Cornerstone or plaque If Church holds a weekly worship service and "all are welcome", please give the day of the week: Sunday Indicate the time that the primary worship service is held. List only one: 10:00 AM Street address of Church: 2612 Ave L Galveston, TX USA 77550 If denomination of Church is not part of the name, please provide it here: Not listed If Church is open to the public, please indicate hours: Not listed Primary website for Church or Historic Church Building: Not listed Secondary Website for Church or Historic Church Building: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   11/23/2018 WalksfarTX visited it 09/13/2017 jhuoni visited it 02/15/2010 PeterNoG visited it 04/14/2007 ggmorton visited it

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