Montgomery in Montgomery County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Bell Street Baptist Church
Photographed by Shaun Rose, April 24, 2024
1. Bell Street Baptist Church Marker
Bell Street Baptist Church was organized on August 12, 1883. Under the leadership of Rev. A. L. Hawkins, the early congregation met in a house in Cooks Alley. In 1922, during Rev. G. R. Hills tenure, the congregation moved to a building on Talladega Street. After a destructive fire on August 28, 1936, the church moved to Bell Street and took its present name. On February 12, 1945, a tornado destroyed the building. A church at the present location on Oak Street was completed on January 29, 1946.
Rev. Uriah J. Fields was called as pastor on July 3, 1953. In December 1955, Fields helped organize the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) at the start of the boycott against segregated city buses. Rev. Fields was the MIAs original recording secretary. The congregants of Bell Street helped sustain the boycott. After city authorities made it more difficult for African American taxi drivers to transport boycotters, the church purchased an automobile and became a dispatch station for a fleet of private vehicles.
On January 10, 1957, three weeks after the integration of city buses, Bell Street was bombed, along with
this page online
Erected 2023 by Alabama Historical Association.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical date for this entry is January 29, 1946.
Location. 32° 22.309′ N, 86° 19.516′ W. Marker is in Montgomery, Alabama, in Montgomery County. It is at the intersection of Oak Street and Robinson Street, on the right when traveling north on Oak Street. 1 block North of Day Street Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 503 Oak Street, Montgomery AL 36104, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Alabama’s Tri-Counties River Region. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and in the Black Belt. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the
Photographed by Shaun Rose, April 24, 2024
2. Bell Street Baptist Church Marker
Context photograph of the historic marker with church building in the background.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Day Street Baptist Church (approx. 0.2 miles away); Clay Street Missionary Baptist Church (approx. 0.3 miles away); Black Churches Provide Significant Support for the March and Voting (approx. 0.4 miles away); Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal AME Zion Church (approx. 0.4 miles away); From Bus Boycott to Voting Rights: Community Activism 1955-65 (approx. 0.4 miles away); Loveless School / Henry Allen Loveless (approx. 0.4 miles away); Four Points: One of Several Black Business Hubs in Montgomery (approx. 0.4 miles away); Lilly Baptist Church (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Montgomery.
Another marker is no longer nearby. Historic Chappell House (was approx. 0.4 miles away but has been permanently removed).
More about this marker. The marker is situated on the church's property, atop a grass embankment.
Regarding Bell Street Baptist Church. Bell Street Baptist Church is part of the Long Civil Rights Movement, which is gaining acceptance and understanding, historiographically, as starting in the mid-to-late nineteenth century and concluding in the twentieth century or continuing into the present day.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 27, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 24, 2024, by Shaun Rose of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 767 times since then and 77 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 24, 2024, by Shaun Rose of Montgomery, Alabama. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.
