First Baptist Church East 8th Street, historically named Shiloh Baptist Church, is a historic church at 506 E. 8th Street in

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

. The congregation was organized in 1866 as Shiloh Baptist Church by a group of men who had served as soldiers in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. Initially they worshiped in a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

shop; subsequently they met for worship in members' homes. The church building was built in 1885 with the labor of former slaves. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1979.

References

External links

* Baptist churches in Tennessee Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee Gothic Revival church buildings in Tennessee Churches completed in 1885 19th-century Baptist churches in the United States Churches in Chattanooga, Tennessee National Register of Historic Places in Chattanooga, Tennessee {{Tennessee-church-stub