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Spring Garden Baptist Church

Spring Garden Missionary Baptist Church for African Americans was organized under a big cedar tree on the corner of Fifth and Respass streets between the years of 1866 and 1867. On this spot today now stands Beebe Memorial C.M.E. church. Having no building to hold services, the pastor and members erected a bush arbor on Fifth between Van Norden and Bridge streets, and gave it the name Mt. Gilead Baptist church. As membership grew and the church became more financially stable a temporary structure was erected on the site of the bush arbor. Membership still continued to climb and a new and larger church was soon needed. A plot of land on Gladden between Fifth and Sixth streets was purchased, and what is now the Spring Garden Baptist church, pictured above, was erected.

Format: WDN