First Missionary Baptist Church of Lowndesboro

First Missionary Baptist Church of Lowndesboro. Lowndes County. , Reverend Mansfield Tyler (1826-1904), who was born enslaved near Augusta, Georgia, organized First Missionary Baptist Church of Lowndesboro in the late 1860s. He led 137 Black and five White members of Lowndesboro Baptist Church to establish this congregation circa 1867-1868 during Reconstruction. Rev. Tyler and Daniel Alexander purchased land from the Meadows family and built the first edifice in 1871. Rev. Tyler and his wife Amanda sold this parcel to church trustees for $30.00 on December 28, 1878. In 1880, Rev. Tyler and Alexander built the present structure, which continued to serve as a church, and also served as a school until 1883, when a new school building was constructed. Rev. Tyler helped organize the Alabama Colored Baptist Convention (1868), serving as first president until 1886; helped establish Selma University, served as its Board Chair (1878-1904); and served in the Alabama Legislature (1870-1872), advocating for Black education and land ownership. Eleven pastors have served since 1867: Mansfield Tyler (1867- 1904), Edwards. Hawthorne, Charles Pritchard, R. Royster, G.B. Chapman, W.M. Henton, R.B. McTier, Isaiah H. Sanders, Arthur Smith (1964-2003), Willie D. Lewis (2003-Present). Listed in the National Register of Historic Places on April 3, 2014 .