Old Elam Baptist Church

Old Elam Baptist Church. . Organized on June 19, 1819, by Rev. James McLemore, Electious Thompson, Arnold Edwards, and E. Jeter, Old Elam is one of Montgomery's earliest Baptist churches. It began with fourteen members and was one of the four original churches that comprised the Alabama Baptist Association. , Although most of its early members were white, several enslaved persons also worshiped here. Caesar Blackwell (1769-1845), a renowned African American preacher and a slave who was owned by the Association, gave some of his earliest sermons at Old Elam. In 1865, the white congregation departed, giving the church and deed for the surrounding land to its black members. , A tornado destroyed the church in 1947. A new facility was constructed on the same site three years later. In 1977, following an extensive remodeling, the church began offering regular weekly services. A new sanctuary was built in 1997. , The church cemetery dates to 1820 and is listed on the Alabama Historic Cemetery Register. Many ministers and missionaries have been sent from Old Elam, "the beacon on the hill," to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.