Centennial Baptist Church facts for kids
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Centennial Baptist Church
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Centennial Baptist Church, March 2013
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 Location in Arkansas
Location in the United States
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| Location | Helena, Arkansas |
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| Built | 1905 |
| Architect | Henry James Price |
| Architectural style | Late Gothic Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 87000518 (original) 03001044 (increase) |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | March 26, 1987 |
| Boundary increase | July 31, 2003 |
| Designated NHL | July 31, 2003 |
The Centennial Baptist Church is a very old and important church building. You can find it in Helena, Arkansas, at the corner of York and Columbia Streets. This church is special because of its connection to a man named Elias Camp Morris (1855-1922). He was the pastor of this church starting in 1879.
Elias Camp Morris was a key leader in creating the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.. This was a big group for African-American Baptist churches. Morris was elected president of this group in 1895 and stayed president until he passed away. His church, the Centennial Baptist Church, was like the main office for this important organization. Because of its history, the church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. It was later named a National Historic Landmark in 2003, which means it's one of the most important historic places in the United States.
Sadly, the church was badly damaged by strong winds on April 12, 2020. This happened during a big storm called the 2020 Easter tornado outbreak.
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The Church Building
The church building you see today was designed by Henry James Price. He was a member of the church and an architect. It was built in 1895. The building has a special style called Gothic Revival. This means it looks a bit like old European cathedrals. It's made of brick.
The front of the church has two tall towers. In between the towers, there's a large central section with a pointed top, called a gable. Each tower has a main entrance with a pointed arch, like a Gothic window. Below the main gable, there are three sections of windows. Each section has three tall, narrow windows joined together. These are called lancet windows. Above these, in the gable, there's a round window. The roofline of the gable has decorative brickwork that looks like fancy trim.
Elias Camp Morris and His Important Work
Elias Camp Morris became the pastor of the Centennial Church in 1879. The church was quite new at that time. He quickly became a very important person in the Baptist community. He led the Arkansas Negro Baptist Convention. He also chaired the board of trustees for Arkansas Baptist College, which was founded in 1884.
Morris also started a newspaper called the Baptist Vanguard in 1882. This newspaper became a guide for other publications. In 1886, three African-American Baptist church groups joined together to form the National Baptist Convention. This group truly came together in 1895, and that's when Morris was chosen as its president. At that time, this convention was the largest meeting group of African-Americans in the entire country.
Elias Camp Morris was also involved in politics. He attended national meetings as a representative for the Republican Party. The Centennial Baptist Church was the center for all of Morris's activities. The church grew a lot under his leadership. This church building is the only one still standing that is connected to his busy and important life.
Damage from a Big Storm
On April 12, 2020, the Centennial Baptist Church was badly damaged by very strong winds. The mayor of Helena, Kevin Smith, said the church looked like "a bombed-out World War II ruin." This storm was part of the 2020 Easter tornado outbreak. The storm also destroyed two other old buildings nearby.
See also
