February 2026.
Second Baptist is probably best known for its leadership under Rev. James Poindexter, namesake of the nearby Poindexter Village. It is also the oldest Baptist congregation in Columbus founded by Black parishioners. The church building itself is a rather unique Gothic Revival design, too.
Second Baptist Church is located at 186 North 17th Street in the King-Lincoln Bronzeville neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. It is bordered by Spring Street to the north, vacant lots and Long Street to the south, houses to the east, and 17th Street to the west.
History
Second Baptist’s history can be traced to the founding of First Baptist Church in May 1824, which had a congregation consisting of 11 members, three of whom were Black. Although they were allowed to be members and attend services, they were confined to the church’s balcony. In 1834, the church’s 16 Black members were allowed to form their own branch of the church, hold meetings, and manage their own expenses. However, it did not formally receive its independence until 1836.
A photo of Second Baptist’s church building at 90 East Rich Street. (Second Baptist website)
Second Baptist, hence its name, was established as a “mission church” of First Baptist Church in 1836. Its founders were Reverend Ezekiel Fields and deacon Pleasant Litchford, the latter being a blacksmith who was formerly enslaved in Virginia. It was chartered as a non-profit by the state in 1844, and its first church was built at 105-115 East Gay Street that year. Two others were at 69 Mulberry Street and 90 East Rich Street.
Second Baptist split into two units in 1847, due to disagreements over a new Black family that had owned enslaved people in the past. (The congregation’s own website claims that this split was more amicable, however.) After that family declined requests to purchase the freedom of those enslaved people with the profits from their sale, 40 members of the church led by James Poindexter established the Anti-Slavery Baptist Church. Poindexter and his charter members were known for their concerted efforts to help enslaved people escape the South on the Underground Railroad. Poindexter and his faction went on to rejoin Second Baptist in 1858, and he was appointed as pastor that year.
Poindexter served as pastor until 1898. Along with his role within the church, he held a few political offices, and he entered a lawsuit with Washington Gladden of First Congregational Church in 1881 in an attempt to desegregate Columbus’s schools. (I’m unsure if that particular lawsuit was successful, but the schools were ultimately desegregated soon after, only to have segregation reinstated by William Oxley Thompson in the 1900s.) Poindexter’s intense sermons often advocated for abolition of slavery.
The present Second Baptist church building was built between 1907 and 1908. It was designed in the Gothic Revival style, though its brick construction lends it a curious proto-Art Deco quality. The church was dedicated on January 26, 1908.
Second Baptist, like First Baptist, also played a role in the founding of ten other congregations. Shiloh Baptist and Pilgrim Missionary Baptist, two nearby parishes that I’ve also visited, were offshoots of Second Baptist. Others include Good Shepherd Baptist, Oakley Baptist, and Bethany Baptist. The church’s membership was rapidly growing in the early 20th century with the influx of Black residents during the Great Migration, and it had tripled by 1936.
Historic photo of Second Baptist members. (Second Baptist website)
Mid-century history of Second Baptist includes the construction of its first addition in 1951 and the church’s Senior Citizen Complex on Broad Street in the 1960s. By 1976, the church’s membership had grown to 1,200 people from 250, and they became closely involved in the community. Several initiatives were established to help feed the poorer residents of King-Lincoln Bronzeville and provide opportunities such as summer camp for children.
In 1990, the present Postmodern church annex was built next door, which incorporates the cornerstone from the 1951 building. Second Baptist ordained its first female minister, Rev. Yvette Hensley, in 1996. Most recently, the 1908 church was renovated in 2000.
Photos
17th Street facade of the church:
The building has an English Gothic Revival design, seen in its central rose window and more horizontal stature. The two flanking towers are very interesting to me, as their simplified brick forms appear as a scaled-down version of Art Deco setbacks.
A small arcade spans the space between the towers, which is probably where the church’s narthex is:
The stained-glass rose window and its wood framing are in great condition for this building’s age:
The arcade’s crenellated top gives it a nice medieval feel, too.
Smaller tower and the lean-to portion attached:
I like the taller tower’s vertical emphasis with its recessed brick panels, which use a unique herringbone pattern:
Now that I think about it, the stone accents and parapet are pretty similar to the Commercial-style architecture going up at the time, too.
The cornerstone is located on the end of this tower:
The Postmodern addition, which was built in 1990:
It uses similar materiality and forms as the original church, but its massing is confusing and disordered versus the clear form of the church. It also includes the 1951 cornerstone:
Historic marker nearby--Rev. Poindexter is pictured:
Definitely a very interesting history here, and I’m glad that this historic congregation has been doing well. I wish they had more historic photos, though.
Sources:
Historic Underground Railroad marker on-site
https://www.secondbaptistcolumbus.com/history/
https://bpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/u.osu.edu/dist/1/3078/files/2012/06/Beth-Jax.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment