First Baptist Church of Ann Arbor

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

The formal establishment of First Baptist in Ann Arbor occurred in 1828, meeting just outside of the city for a few years. The historic building, finished in 1880, proved to be the church's third structure and by far its largest. Member of the congregation played a big role in its construction with one member even mortgaging his own home to help finance the building project. The First Baptist Church building arose a few years after the 1870s economic depression when the city enjoyed a commercial and immigration boom.

Images

First Baptist Church of Ann Arbor (circa 1880).

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

The First Baptist Church of Ann Arbor was formally established in 1828 and built two permanent structures before constructing the now-historic chapel on Washington Street in 1880. Many of its members played a significant role in the construction, including selecting and arranging the square-cut field stone and providing materials for the interior. Edward Olney, a nationally-known University of Michigan mathematics professor, mortgaged his home and donated the funds to the church construction project.

The first congregation met in 1828 in a farmhouse located three miles west of Ann Arbor. Four years later, the members moved into town and assembled in a location above a store. At the same time, they planned for the construction of a church, which opened in 1835, two years before the establishment of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. In 1849, the congregation again moved to a new, brick church located closer to the University; the formal chartering of Ann Arbor arrived two years after that, in 1851. When they moved to Washington Street in 1880, the old brick church was demolished. Traditional Baptist architecture generally followed the same individualism preached in its sermons. Still, the historic First Baptist Church of Ann Arbor enjoyed a design that followed the reigning, medieval-era, Gothic style.

The church's success within its new building during the 1880s coincided with Ann Arbor's growth marked by industrialization expansion, immigration, and the University of Michigan's expansion. The population growth, and increased influence by the college in Ann Arbor, sustained the church and its development.

Sources

Brook, Andrew Ten. Historic Sketch of the First Baptist Church in Ann Arbor.. " Washtenaw Impressions, vol. 9, no. 4. Published May 1st 1952. Washtenaw Historical Society. https://cfbfc67b-477f-4b46-9638-d3a89c1c1e44.filesusr.com/ugd/708faa_cba8dfbde3cd4ddb801f8793918053f0.pdf?index=true.

Reade, Marjorie and Susan Wineberg. "First Baptist Church, 1880." Ann Arbor District Library. aadl.org. Accessed November 29, 2020. https://aadl.org/buildings_hhaa057.

Trowbridge, Mary Elizabeth Day. History of Baptists in Michigan. Michigan Baptist State Convention, 1909. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo1.ark:/13960/t78s58p1s&view=1up&seq=1.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

https://www.fbca2.org/