First Baptist Church is a historic congregation in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

, which was first established in 1800. Today, the congregation worships in a Greek-Revival church building on Bull Street, on the western side of

Chippewa Square Chippewa Square is one of the Squares of Savannah, Georgia, 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the middle row of the city's five rows of squares, on Bull Street and McDonough Street, and was laid out in 1815. It is s ...

in the historic district of Savannah. This location has been the congregation’s home since 1833 and the building is architecturally significant, being the oldest surviving church building in Savannah. When initially chartered in 1800, the congregation worshipped at a meeting house on Franklin Square. The church received its perpetual charter the following year by Georgia Governor Josiah Tattnall. The current church building was designed by architect

Elias Carter Elias Carter (1781-1864) was an American architect whose first church design, at Brimfield, Massachusetts, Brimfield, Massachusetts, was completed in 1805. He was born in 1781 to Timothy and Sarah (Walker) Carter in Ward, a village of Auburn, Mass ...

. The cornerstone was laid on February 2, 1831, and two years later, with construction complete, the congregation relocated to its present location. Six years after moving into the current building, the growing congregation began renovations to expand the sanctuary. The church's organ, the work of Ernest M. Skinner, was installed in 1922."E.M. Skinner organ celebrates 100 years of beautiful music at First Baptist Church of Savannah"
– ''

Savannah Morning News The ''Savannah Morning News'' is a daily newspaper in Savannah, Georgia. It is published by Gannett. The motto of the paper is "Light of the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry". The paper serves Savannah, its metropolitan area, and parts of South ...

'', January 10, 2022 By 1947, the congregation was using the name "First" Baptist Church to distinguish itself from other Baptist congregations in the city. It is one of the few Southern churches to have remained open through the entirety of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. The church utilized local architect

Henrik Wallin Henrik Wallin (October 9, 1873 – January 28, 1936) was a Savannah, Georgia-based architect. He was born in Rodviken, Nordmaling, Sweden in 1873. He designed some works that are included on the National Register of Historic Places within histo ...

for the notable alterations that occurred in 1922. Renovations included extending the front of the building, cladding the building in limestone, and removing the

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

. Previous pastors include W. L. Pickard, later president of

Mercer University Mercer University is a private research university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the state and enrolls more than 9,000 ...

, and Norman Cox, the executive secretary of the Historical Commission of the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline, First Baptist Church (Savannah, Georgia) Baptist churches in Georgia (U.S. state) Churches in Savannah, Georgia Chippewa Square buildings Savannah Historic District 1833 establishments in the United States