McDonough ILGenWeb

The First Baptist church of Macomb was organized in 1857 by Rev. D. D. Gregory. The congregation purchased the Macomb female seminary building on North Lafayette street, now occupied by the Second Baptist church, and continued to worship there until their new church edifice was erected, which was in 1869. It is on Carroll street, west of Lafayette street, and is one of the largest and most expensive church structures in the county. The architectural design of the building is rather imposing, of good proportion, and pleasing to the eye. A very tall steeple, 132 feet high, rises from the center of the building, over the front and main entrance, and is beautifully designed and proportioned. The present value of the structure is about $8,000, although it cost the congregation several thousand dollars more to erect it. Real estate, material and labor were much higher than at present. The following are the names of the original members: D. D. Gregory, J. Pennington, T. Axford, J. W. Blount, M. T. Winslow, Mrs. Rice, Mrs. McCabe and Mrs. Summers. The congregation has grown gradually, until the membership at present numbers about 95. The following are the names of the various pastors since the organization: Revs. L. M. Whitman, J. 0. Metcalf, C. W. Palmer, J. L. Benedict, C. B. Roberts, Hill, J. L M. Young, W. D. Clark and J. S. Douglas. The church has no regular pastor at present, but services are held occasionally. A Sunday school is held regularly every Sunday, and has an average attendance of about 65.

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Source: The History of McDonough County, together with sketches of the towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent individuals, and biographies of the representative citizens, 1885, pages 461-462. Transcribed by Karl A. Petersen