Nazarene Baptist Church

Front: This congregation traces its roots to enslaved members of Gapway Baptist Church (1 mi. W) who held their own worship services as early as the 1840s. They organized the independent Nazarene Church after the Civil War. Early preachers from the Reaves and Owens families were licensed by Gapway in 1866. By 1870 Nazarene had over 100 members and was part of the Gethsemane Baptist Association. Reverse: Around 1900, Nazarene Baptist church founded a public school at this site. Early classes were held in a wooden 1-room school that was replaced by a larger 2-room building likely in the 1920s. Known as Nazarene or Gapway School, it served Black families from Marion Co.’s Reaves and Legette Townships. Around 90 elementary-age students were enrolled in 1954-55, its final year. It no longer stands.