First Baptist Church — Built 1891

First Baptist Church — Built 1891. . , Recalling the pastorate of her father, Rev. Waller Lile Pierce, at the First Baptist Church of Lake City in 1901 and 1902, Annie Pierce McNally exclaimed, “... if the walls of that church could cry out, what a story of redemption they would tell!” , If the walls of this venerable house of worship could indeed speak, they would probably relate a tale of trial and perseverance stretching out over a century, telling of a small mountain congregation which has persevered, and in the end succeeded, through the generations. It is a story of everlasting faith. , Baptist Minister James French first spoke in Lake City during the summer of 1876 but it wasn't until the following year that Samuel Bradley, Jonathan Ogden and Francis M. Mendenhall took initial steps for the incorporation of a Baptist Church in the city. , Their efforts were renewed on September 9, 1883, when an organizational meeting was held to start the First Baptist Church of Lake City. First members of the organization were Jennie Bent, Margaret Taliaferro Frank, John L. and Ella C. Murphy, John B. and Mary L. Taliaferro, Francis M. and Emma J. Mendenhall, Mrs. Albert Johnson, Clark Thompson, Peter P. and Mildred A. Kennedy, Mary Prowers Hough, Mary Gilmour Edgerton, Emma Fluallen, and Matilda Ferguson. , Local membership in the Baptist Church increased to 30 members in 1885 following revival meetings held by Rev. M.A. Clark. The congregation called its first full-time minister, Rev. Francis Wayland Reynolds, in 1888. At its peak near the turn of the century, the local congregation boasted nearly 100 members. , It was under the pastorate of Rev. Reynolds' successor, Rev. Charles A. Parker, that efforts were started to construct a proper home for the congregation; church members had previously met in a series of rented commercial buildings in downtown Lake City. Mildred Taliaferro Kennedy and her sister-in-law, Mary Loftus Taliaferro, were placed in charge of fund-raising efforts: through a series of social entertainments the church was able to purchase Lot 17 in Casco Addition, Bluff Street, for $30 in 1889. , By July 27, 1890, $380 had been raised, including $2.70 which was contributed by the First Baptist Church of Adrian, Missouri. , Ground-breaking ceremonies were held on June 25, 1891, followed by the ceremonial laying of the cornerstone the following day. Timber for the church building was cut by the firm of Guionneau and Youmans on 71 Mountain above Lake San Cristobal. , Work on the new church continued throughout the summer and fall of 1891, the 45' tall steeple being completed in September of that year. Total cost of the structure was estimated to be $2,500. The first service was held in the building in September, 1891. , Rev. Parker officiated at dedication ceremonies in the new building on January 17, 1892; he was assisted during the day by Rev. Alexander Turnbull, Colorado State Missionary, and Dr. H.C. Woods, of Omaha, Nebraska. The finished structure, considered the most modern and up-to-date in Lake City, consisted of a 36x22' auditorium seating 102 in folding opera chairs, and an adjoining lecture room which could seat 35. Altogether, with additional seats, the Baptist Church had a capacity for seating nearly 200 people. , Novel features of the church included its elaborate memorial windows which were the first stained glass windows placed in a Lake City church. Installed over a period of a decade, the windows memorialized Rev. Parker's brother, W.H. Parker; Mrs. Zurbiah Beemer, the mother of Lake City resident Mrs. Hill Whitmore; and members of the Peter P. Kennedy family. In later years windows were added in memory of other church founders, John S. and Mary Hough, and Lovian B. Ramsey, and, most recently, memorials for Mabel Downing Rawson, Pearl Hunt McCloughan, and R.L. and Nelma Edmondson. , The Mesdames Rawson and McCloughan, together with Mr. and Mrs. Edmondson, are credited with saving the church from demolition in the 1950's after a long period of disuse. Mr. Edmondson personally supervised the revival of the Baptist Church from 1959 until his death in 1979. Rev. Finis "Gene" Fluker served as the church's minister starting in 1979, the congregation's first full-time minister since the 1920's.