First Baptist Church, Lauderdale

First Baptist Church, Lauderdale is a Tennessee historical marker in Lauderdale Memphis, Shelby County.

Shelby Co., 682 South Lauderdale,Lauderdale Memphis, TN

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Front: Originally known as Beale Street Baptists Church First Baptist Church, Lauderdale began in 1865 as the first black Baptist church in West Tennessee. In 1877, it split from Beale Street Baptists. Through a legal action in 1894, it was authorized to retain the original 1865 charter and status as the First Baptist Church. The first pastor, the Rev. Morris Henderson, focused on education, ethics, and racial harmony. Reverse: Later, Dr. T.O. Fuller served as pastor. An educator, author, and advocator of racial adjustment, he organized the Inter-Racial League. In 1939, church officials utilized windows from its 1906 building when they relocated to this post-civil war site. Officially renamed in 1954 as First Baptist Church, Lauderdale. during the 1950s and 1960s civil rights leaders used the church to develop movement strategies.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1855 · Arkansas (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1859 · Arkansas (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1862 · Johnson's Kentucky & Tennessee (1862) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1865 · Military map showing the marches of the United States Forces 1863-1865. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1886 · Arkansas. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

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Marker text and location from the Tennessee Historical Commission, as the Commission publishes them on its marker map.

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On the National Register nearby

First Colored Baptist Church40 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.