St. John Baptist Church

St. John Baptist Church. 715 Sixth Street S.W. Mason City, Iowa. Conceptualized in 1919, incorporated - September 21, 1920. This site for the church was purchased in 1926. The founding members and families of St. John Baptist Church worked diligently to erect a building to bring a small but growing African-American community together for praise and worship.

Because of meager and limited resources of the congregation, the edifice was constructed in stages. The basement level was started in 1919 and served as the sanctuary worshiping space for the congregation for 19 years. The committed congregational visionaries labored for several more years to construct the current church structure.

The construction of the church is unique in that it was built with lime stone blocks, windows, and other building materials recovered and purchased for $600 from the demolished former elementary grant school that once stood at 503 6th Street SW. The school was razed in 1937. Additional building materials from the razed school site were purchased for $1100 after a tag day sale. A distinctive building block from the razed school lies upside down on the rear of the church that reads “schoo“. The upper level was completed in 1939. The complete church was dedicated September 29, 1940.

The current standing building of the St. John Baptist Church is the result of the vision and labor of

Building Committee Members , Mrs. Reed Allen, President William B. Martin, Treasurer , Rev. J. Lee Lewis, Advisor , Overton H. Burrell . James T. Jeffries . Arron E. Macer . Benjamin F. Parker , Rev. James M. Eaves, Pastor