Shiloh Baptist Church is a historic

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

church in

King-Lincoln Bronzeville King-Lincoln Bronzeville is a historically African American neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio. Originally known as Bronzeville by the residents of the community, it was renamed the King-Lincoln District by Mayor Michael B. Coleman's administration ...

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. One of the oldest

black church The Black church (sometimes termed Black Christianity or African American Christianity) is the faith and body of Christian denominations and congregations in the United States that predominantly minister to, and are led by, African Americans, ...

es in the city, it has been active since the 1860s, and its 1920s building has been named a

historic site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been re ...

. Built of brick on a concrete foundation, the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

church features

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

details and is covered with an asphalt roof. The major part of the church is on the second

story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Narrative, an account of imaginary or real people and events ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting ** News story, an event or topic reported by a news orga ...

, sitting above a basement with windows at ground level; the main part of the building is entered through large doors atop a flight of exterior stairs. Squat rectangular towers with pyramidal roofs sit on the front corners of the building, with simple rectangular windows above small doorways. The plan partially reflects traditional ecclesiastical architecture, with a

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

d roof being interrupted by cross gables on the sides. Many of the windows, as well as the doorways, are wide ogive arches. Shiloh Baptist Church was formed by a group of former members of the city's Second Baptist Church. Seeing the city's black population increasing rapidly, especially on the near east side, Second Baptist leaders asked for volunteers to leave and form a new church; these volunteers formed the entire charter membership of the new Shiloh church. From their first meeting in 1869 until 1871, they worshipped in a rented property at Gay and Fourth Streets

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

, after which they moved a few blocks eastward to Cleveland Avenue and Long Street. The congregation again moved in 1923 upon the completion of the present building on Mount Vernon Avenue, significantly farther east than the previous houses of worship.Betti, Tom, et al. ''Columbus Neighborhoods: A Guide to the Landmarks of Franklinton, German Village, King-Lincoln, Olde Town East, Short North & the University District''. Charleston and London:

The History Press The History Press is a British publishing company specialising in the publication of titles devoted to local and specialist history. It claims to be the United Kingdom's largest independent publisher in this field, publishing approximately 300 ...

, 2013, 180. A minister, James Burks, was responsible for the design, with additional work being performed by the A.O. Day Construction Company. The congregation came close to losing the building during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, due to its inability to pay the mortgage, but was delivered by an unexpected act of mercy: upon obtaining title through

foreclosure Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has Default (finance), stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the Collateral (finance), coll ...

, the bank promptly contracted to return the property to the church. Since that time, the building has become recognized as one of the premier components of the surrounding neighborhood, Mount Vernon.Shiloh Baptist Church

Ohio Historical Society Ohio History Connection, formerly The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society and Ohio Historical Society, is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1885. Headquartered at the Ohio History Center in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio History Connect ...

, 2007. As the third oldest black church in Columbus, younger only than the parent church and a congregation of the

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Methodist denomination based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan theology, Wesleyan–Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, connexional polity. It ...

, the congregation has long played a significant part in the life of Mount Vernon. In recognition of its significance in local history, the building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2004. The congregation remains active in the wider Baptist community as a part of the Eastern Union Missionary Baptist Association.Member Churches
, Eastern Union Missionary Baptist Association, 2015. Accessed 2015-07-05. Shiloh Baptist Church 1901

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Churches completed in 1923 Baptist churches in Ohio Churches in Columbus, Ohio Gothic Revival church buildings in Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Columbus, Ohio King-Lincoln Bronzeville African-American history in Columbus, Ohio

See also

References