First Baptist Church

About this property

The First Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky, is a historic Southern Baptist church established in 1846. It is known for its deep roots in the community, large building, and its pioneering role in shaping the financial structure of the Southern Baptist Convention. The church's current building, notable for its decorative brickwork and stained glass windows, earned it a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. The congregation's first building was a simple frame church built in 1848 at a cost of $440. As the congregation grew, plans for a more substantial building began as early as 1879. In 1899, the church commissioned architect H. P. MacDonald and contractor W. R. Lassiter to construct a new building. The second building was completed in early 1900 at a total cost of $7,770 and was used until the early 1920s when the church outgrew it. It was demolished in 1924 In January 1924, a committee was appointed to secure plans for a new structure to accommodate the growing congregation. This structure was to include a auditorium with seating for 1000. Construction began in late 1924 under contractor Currie Lockett, who volunteered his services. To ensure that no debt was allowed to accumulate against the building, the congregation chose to build the structure on a "pay-as-you-go" basis. The church paid for labor and materials only as the funds were raised through offerings. Pastor H. Boyce Taylor, personally contributed several thousand dollars. To save costs, members of the congregation volunteered labor, including salvaging and cleaning bricks and wood from the demolished 1900 building. Progress was slow and was halted several times as funds were raised. By June 1927, the congregation began holding services in the unfinished structure, which at the time had only tar paper sub-flooring and no pews. The completed building was formally dedicated on October 25, 1936, at a total cost of over $130,000. In the late 1940s, a shortage of space for Sunday School classes led the church to undertake a major building campaign. Under the leadership of Pastor H. C. Chiles, the church approved plans for a large Educational Building to be added onto the existing building in April 1949. The $97,000 structure was constructed quickly with extensive donated labor and services. The 84-room building opened May 21, 1950, resulting in a record-breaking Sunday School attendance of over 1,000 on its first day of use. This addition created an L-shaped building and was designed to be harmonious with the main structure. In 1956, the church chose architect R.W. Key to design an expansion to the auditorium. The $141,000 project covered the lot at the rear of the building, and increased the rooms seating capacity to over 1,500. The renovation also included an interior remodeling. The newly renovated and expanded auditorium opened on June 22, 1958.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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