Liberty Baptist Church (701 Oak St):

PSA: Walking to Liberty Baptist Church is optional, you can stay at Rochelle-Landers Pool and view the Liberty Baptist Church landmark instead of walking to 701 Oak St.

PSA: This location is listed as 702 Oak St. only because the actual location was utilized by another member of HIST 288 causing me to not be able to create a second entry for the same sight. Liberty Baptist Church is actually located at 701 Oak St.

Evansville’s oldest black congregation, Liberty Baptist Church got its start in 1865. Created by a group of former enslaved people, the church was erected in 1865 but was moved and replaced a few times before getting its current home on 701 Oak Street. It had its highest number of members under the leadership of J.D. Rouse, who built the congregation to 2,000. In 1959, an education wing was built for the church. The church still holds weekly services and serves as a symbol of African American leadership and unity in the Evansville community. 

Liberty Baptist Church was founded in 1865 by a group of former enslaved people traveling north. It is known as the oldest black congregation in Evansville. It was first located at the corner of at Chestnut and Canal St. in a small brick building that cost $10,000 to create. About a year after the building was erected, differing accounts claim either a cyclone, windstorm, or tornado took out the building in 1866. Seven months later, the congregation created a new building about 7 blocks away from the original building. Now located on the corner of 701 Oak St., a new Gothic-style church frame was erected that cost about $19,000 to create. To accommodate the growing members in 1880, the original building was torn down and a new, bigger one was set to replace it.

           After the erection of the new building, Reverend Green MacFarland began preaching services in 1880. Rev. MacFarland was a white man who was devoted to the welfare of former enslaved people. He served as pastor until his death in 1881 and was replaced by J.D. Rouse. However, there were disagreements on who the next reverend should be, causing some members of the church to break away from Liberty and formed a separate church known as “MacFarland Chapel.”

Born in 1854, J.D. Rouse, who was the next chosen pastor of Liberty Baptist came to Evansville from Henderson with his parents in 1865. His father, Adam Rouse, helped establish the original congregation in 1865. Rouse went to primary school in Evansville and attended Roger Williams University for college. He became licensed to preach in 1875, ten years after his family moved to Evansville. He was known as Dennis Rouse in the city directories, and there was also mention of his wife, Susie Rouse. While being pastor, he lived in a couple houses on Elliot Street, which was about a mile away from the church. He was a noted orator who had built his church to a membership of 2,000 and become an officer of the National Baptist Convention. He was praised as a model father since both of his children were local schoolteachers. The church held services, funerals, community events, and served as a symbol of the black community in Evansville. Rouse served as pastor until his death in 1929, when he was replaced by Reverend L.S. Smith.

           Smith didn’t add many improvements to the church or grow its members the way Rouse had, but kept the church going under his leadership until 1955. In 1955, Charles King took over as pastor and wanted to better the church. In 1959, through an improvement program, an education wing was built. Liberty Baptist remained among the most influential and affluent African American churches and congregations in the area. During this time, prominent African American principal Charles Rochelle of Lincoln School was a member of church. During the mid-20^th century, Liberty served as a voice for the integration of churches and other facilities in Evansville. It provided numerous social and welfare programs for the area’s residents and even established a non-profit housing corporation to assist low-income people with securing housing in the area.

           By 1977, a new pastor, known as Robert L. Saunders, led the church's services. It was under his leadership that the church became listed in the National Register of Historic Places. In 1979, the church hosted much of the “Black History Series of 1979.” Information on the church's pastors from 1980 onward became untraceable, and I’m only able to locate the current pastor of the church. The current pastor is Todd M. Robertson, and he will be hosting a food drive on Thanksgiving. Currently, Liberty Baptist Church still stands and holds a weekly service. While it may not be as prominent as it was in the 19^th and 20^th centuries it still holds a reminder to the community of African American prosperity, unity, and leadership.

Liberty Baptist Church, Historic Evansville . Accessed November 27th, 2023. https://www.historicevansville.com/site.php?id=libertybaptist.

·       Bigham, Darrel. “Work, Residence, and the Emergence of the Black Ghetto in Evansville, Indiana, 1865- 1900.” Indiana Magazine of History , December 1980, Vol. 76, No. 4 (December 1980), pp. 308

Revival Rooted in History , Indiana Landmarks . July 6th, 2017. Accessed November 28th, 2023. https://www.indianalandmarks.org/2017/07/baptisttown-evansville-tour/.

J.D. Rouse , Digital Archives USI . Accessed November 28th, 2023. https://digitalarchives.usi.edu/digital/collection/p17218coll2/id/9150/rec/1.

Standley, Sherri. "Black History Series 79' ." University of Evansville (Evansville ) January 24th, 1972. .1.

Coud, Joseph, United States Department of Interior, May: 1977 National Register of Historic Places Inventory--Nomination Form. National Park Service, 1977

Liberty Baptist Church, African American Heritage . Accessed November 28th, 2023. https://africanamericanheritagesites.stqry.app/en/story/55846.

"Liberty Baptist Marks 100th Anniversary ." Evansville Courier and Press (Evansville ) December 11th, 1965. .