First Baptist Church (Saint Paul, Minnesota) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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First Baptist Church of St. Paul
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First Baptist Church from the east
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 Location in Minnesota
Location in the United States
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| Location | 499 Wacouta Street Saint Paul, Minnesota |
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| Built | 1875 |
| Built by | Monroe & Romaine Sheire |
| Architect | William W. Boyington |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 83000929 |
| Added to NRHP | February 24, 1983 |
The First Baptist Church of St. Paul is a very old and important church building in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It has a cool history! When it first opened on May 31, 1875, it was the biggest and most expensive church in Saint Paul. People even said it was "the finest piece of architecture west of Chicago." Imagine that!
The church used to have a super tall steeple, about 145 feet high. But in 1945, they had to take it down. The ground was a bit marshy, and the heavy steeple was making the building sink. They built a new, shorter steeple, but it didn't have the old bell tower or clock. This historic church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. This means it's recognized as a special place worth protecting.
Contents
A Church with a Long Story
How It All Started
The story of this church began way back in 1847. A woman named Harriet Bishop started a Sunday school in the St. Paul area. She came from Vermont because she heard there were about thirty children who didn't have a school or teacher. At that time, St. Paul was still part of Wisconsin Territory.
Her first school was in an old blacksmith shop. Harriet Bishop described it as "a mud-walled log hovel covered with bark and chinked with mud." Soon, a new schoolhouse was built on Jackson Street.
The Church Gets Organized
On February 8, 1849, Reverend John Parsons came to St. Paul as a missionary. He started preaching in the new schoolhouse. Then, on December 29, 1849, the church officially formed! They immediately planned to build their own church on a spot called "Baptist Hill." This area is now part of Mears Park.
A Big Challenge
The church needed more money than they could raise locally to build their new church. So, in 1851, Reverend Parsons traveled east to New York to ask for donations. Sadly, he had a very bad experience in New York City and lost all the money he had collected, which was $2,300.
He spent a couple of months getting better. Then he started his journey back to St. Paul. But he passed away on a riverboat north of St. Louis, Missouri. His funeral was the very first service held in the newly built church. This church was built with loans, as they were expecting Parsons' funds.
Moving to New Homes
In 1857, Baptist Hill was lowered to the same level as the surrounding area. This left the small church about 20 feet above everything else! So, the church members looked for a new place. They built a second church on Wacouta Street, which opened on January 1, 1862. This was a bigger stone building.
However, the community was growing very fast. Soon, even this second church wasn't big enough! So, they asked William W. Boyington from Chicago to design a brand new building. This third and current church was built nearby, at the corner of Ninth and Wacouta. It's the beautiful building you see today!
