First Baptist
Church of Washington, Pennsylvania was regularly constituted October 14,
1814, with eleven charter members, after having been in existence as a
Mission since 1811. Seven of the members were from North Ten Mile
Baptist Church, and the others; according to a history of the Mt. Hermon
Baptist Church, must have come from that church, as a statement therein
is made that; "Washington Church was, for a time a branch of Mt. Hermon,
and was constituted in part from members of this church."
Rev. Charles Wheeler,
the first pastor, supported himself chiefly by teaching school in the "Brick
Academy", which was located on the rear of Lot 77 on West Wheeling St.;
and the first meeting house of this congregation was later built on the
front of this lot. His wife also assisted him in teaching at the
Academy. As pastor, he was conscientiously opposed to accepting a
stated salary for his services.
He was a Seminary
classmate of Adoniram Judson, the first foreign Baptist missionary.
He was a friend of Alexander Campbell, who for ten years prior to 1824,
had been pastor of the Brush Run Baptist Church which, like First Baptist
Church of Washington, then belonged to the Redstone Baptist Association.
Rev. Campbell was forced out of Redstone Association in that year, and
then became the founder of the denomination now known as the Christian
Church. Rev. Wheeler was a man of unusual ability, and the community
owes much to him for the religious and cultural development which came
about during the quarter century he labored in this field. His pastorate
of twenty-four years was, by far, the longest of any minister called to
serve this congregation.
Many pastors have
since served the church, and at numerous times, supplied during pastorless
periods. In this very brief sketch, a list of the pastors who have
been formally called, and some of the important dates gleaned from a history
found in the Constitution of 1904, give us some idea of the growth of the
church through the years. And some of the hardships and discouragements
which affected its history.
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Pastors who served.
Rev. Charles Wheeler - 1818-1838
Rev. Brother Davis - 1838-1839
Rev. Brother Billings - 1841-1842
Rev. Charles T. Johnson - 1842-1843
Rev. J. B. W. Tisdale - 1843-1846
Rev. Brother Halping - 1846
Rev. Thomas Swain Jr. - 1846-1850
Rev. George W. Young - 1850-1851
Rev. Mulatto Taylor - 1855-1859
Rev. John Boyd - 1859
Rev. H. Adams - 1864-1865
Rev. R. Telford - 1866-1868
Rev. J. A. Snodgrass - 1871-1874
Rev. Malnor C. Blaine - 1875-1879
Rev. I.C. Tuttle - 1879-1882
Rev. John Brooks - 1884
Rev. Stephen Drummond - 1884-1888
Rev. Alexander McArthur - 1888-1890
Rev. W. S. Wedemyer - 1890-1891
Rev. Stephen Drummond - 1892-1902
Rev. Charles W. Fletcher - 1902-1912
Rev. M. A. Grabiel - 1912-1916
Rev. Frank Tabor - 1916-1930
Rev. W. M. Kennedy - 1931-1950
Rev. Earl C. Gross - 1951-1960
Rev. John A. Mueller - 1961-1972
Rev. John D. Michael - 1974-1983
Rev. Michael Mazer - 1984- 1997
Rev. Ernie Elder - 1999-2000
IMPORTANT DATES
1811 - Legislature of Pennsylvania passed an
act confirming title to Lot No. 77 on West
Wheeling St. to the Baptists for a church.
1814 - October, First Baptist Church regularly
constituted.
1815 - Admitted to membership Redstone Baptist
Association.
1819 - September 2 - Members voted to build
first meeting house.
1835 - Admitted to membership Monongahela
Baptist Association.
1841 - February 21 - "The Great Revival" with
Rev. "Brother" Collins of Hamilton, New
York, assisting, lasted several weeks resulting in 107 being admitted by
baptism
and two by letter.
1841 - April 3 - Motion passed recommending
the formation of the Sunday School and
also a choir.
1841 - October 17 - Regular Sunday School
collections started.
1856 - May 11 - Baptistry put in the
church and first candidate baptized therein.
1858 - Became a member of Pittsburgh Baptist
Association.
1859 - December 23 - "Pastorless" period beginning
. It ended by the coming of a pastor
named Adams of whom no record is left.
1866 - Early in year Rev. H. Telford began
pastorate, the State Association assisting in
payment of his salary.
1871 - October 28 - Rev. J. A. Snodgrass as
supply until he was called as pastor
on July 1, 1873.
[Membership in 1854 had been 114, in 1858, it was 75, and when Rev. Snodgrass
came in 1871, only 11 members, the same number who founded the church 57
years before, could be rallied. The church was kept alive during
this trying
period by the valiant efforts of a few faithful members.]
1890 - May 15 - Church reorganized with membership
of 73.
1891 - May 8 - Church incorporated.
1893 - April 23 - Second church building
on East Wheeling dedicated.
(This building along with the lot , cost the sum of $19, 500.00 and the
former
building and lot were sold about this time for $ 6,000.00)
1899 - "West End Mission" began.
1901 - February 9 - Became West Washington
branch of the First Baptist Church.
1902 - May 4 - An independent church known
as Broad Street Baptist Church with a
membership of 57 was constituted. (56 members of First Baptist Church
dismissed to form this new congregation).
1901 - "Baptist Mission of Tylerdale" began,
with a call of Rev. W. M. Courson as pastor
in charge.
1902 - March 12 - twenty-three members of
First Baptist Church were dismissed to form the
Allison Avenue Baptist Church which was constituted on March 23.
1914 - Centennial Celebration (1814-1914) ,
week beginning October 11, 1914.
Membership of the three churches then reported:
First Baptist Church - 402
Broad Street Baptist Church - 360
Allison Avenue Baptist Church - 360
TOTAL was 1,122
1918 - January 4 - Purchased parsonage at 430
East Chestnut St.
1921 - August 31 - Purchased lot, corner of
East Wheeling and South College for a site of
a new church.
1929 - October 10 - Purchase of adjacent lot
on Wheeling St.
1931 - June 14 - Formal dedication of New
Church building which, together with lot and
furnishings, cost the congregation $176, 980.64. During the great
depression, the ladies of
the Church served luncheons to help with the mortgage payments.
1938- The men's Sunday School class was organized,
and William Porter, having graduated from law
school, became their teacher for a period of 40 years.
1940-1945-
During World War II, 124 members and friends from our Church served
their country.
Nine of these gave their lives for our freedoms.
 LEST
WE FORGET, THEY WERE;
| Pvt. 1st Class George E. Mooney, U.S. Army, Died March 11, 1944 |
| Pvt. 1st Class Edward L. McKahan, U.S. Army, Died July 7, 1944 |
| Lt. Robert W. Goodridge, U.S. Air Force, Died July 10, 1944 |
| MM Mate 2nd Class Paul C. Enoch, U. S. Coast Guard, Died September
14, 1944 |
| Lt. Roy Storrick, U. S. Army Air Force, Died December 2, 1944 |
| Staff Sgt. Virgil M. Fetherlin, U.S. Army, Died December 27, 1944 |
| Pvt. 1st Class Wray D. McQuay, U.S. Army, Died February 11, 1945 |
| 1st LT. Paul D. Algae, U. S. Air Force, Died March 16, 1945 |
| Pvt. 1st Class, Lloyd Martin, U. S. Army, Died March 21, 1945 |
1948- The old Church on East Wheeling
St. was sold to The First Church of the Nazarene for
$15,000. Also our mortgage was burned, and the Moller organ was moved
from the old
Church and installed for $4,600. The Deagan cathedral chimes were installed
shortly
thereafter.
1955- We built a new parsonage at 1099 Redstone
Road for $35,000, while we sold the old
parsonage on Chestnut St. for $ 11,000.
1964- We observed our 150th anniversary, while
at this same time the American Baptist Mission
also was celebrating 150 years of service. To celebrate this event, Trinity
High School was
secured to present the pageant "So Send I You". Over 1200 were in attendance
for this event.
1965- The McKinley property adjacent to the
Church on College St. was purchased for $30,000
1966- The parsonage on Redstone Road was sold
for $24,000.
1976- Our 162nd Anniversary and the Bicentennial
of our nation. Special "old style" Church
services were led by Dr. Chester J. Jump Jr. Executive Secretary, Board
of International
ministries ABC/USA. A Banquet with 550 guests were entertained with a presentation
called
" I Love America"
1979- The Church roof was completely renovated,
with new stainless steel gutters and copper
down spouts at a cost of $23,000. An additional expenditure of $80,000
was used to purchase
new drapes and make many renovations in the classrooms and throughout the
Church.
1981- We hosted the Pittsburgh Baptist Association
annual meeting in our Church with a banquet for
550 people. We also installed a new automatic dishwasher in the kitchen
for $ 8,000. A
memorial fund honoring Mrs. Emily Michael was established to purchase,
and have installed a
new Kawai grand piano for the Church.
1988- We hosted the Pittsburgh Baptist Association
men's banquet.
1990- We participated in the John Wesley White
Crusade in Washington At about this time a
"Celebration of Life Fund" was established to accept monetary gifts for
designated items or
activities within the Church, which has been very rewarding to the work
of the Lord.
1991- Our Pastor conducted a "Desert Storm
Prayer Service" for the U.S. Army Reserve 650th
transportation company and their families. The Church was filled to capacity
for this event.
1993- We purchased a Rodgers three-manual
digital organ which was installed by the men of the
Church.
1997- Our American Baptist Girls hosted their
Annual House Party for the Guild Girls from
Pennsylvania and Maryland. This was well supported by the entire Church.
We also held the
"Witness for America IX"service for racial equality in our Church. |
GENERAL ITEMS of INTEREST
We have helped support Rev. & Mrs. Donald
Deer, Baptist Missionaries in the Republic of Congo and Zaire. Upon their
retirement, we now help support Rev. Stephen & Francesca Crane and
their families in the Dominican Republic. We support the Baptist Homes,
Rankin Christian Center, Alderson-Broddus College and Eastern Baptist Seminary.
Our members are active with the Washington City Mission, Meals on Wheels,
Community Food Pantry, Citizens Library and our Church houses the Literacy
Council.
We welcome all to our Church.
Sunday School is at 9:45 AM and Church Services at 11:00 AM each Sunday.
Our total membership as of December 1, 2001 is 143 |
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