Tour of Homes

110 S. Congress St.

Across the street is First Baptist Church. First Baptist Church was organized in May 1866, as the Yorkville Baptist Church. Among the 15 charter members were two former slaves. The present sanctuary cost about $4,000 and was dedicated on January 10, 1892. Later the women of the congregation acquired the Gothic stained glass windows from a church in Gastonia, NC. The first pipe organ was installed in 1935; however, the present one came more recently from Grace Baptist Church in Sumter, SC. In 1954 pews replaced theater-type seats in the Sanctuary. Classrooms at the back of the sanctuary were added in 1927, and in 1936 the two-story educational building was erected. A renovation and building project, begun in 1991, includes the covered drive-through entrance and parking lot on the north side of the educational building, and a large fellowship hall and office wing, located behind the older facilities. Among the treasures of the Church are seven oil paintings by artist Robert Nippress. These are displayed in the vestibule and in the hallway behind the sanctuary.

South Congress, Hudson, and Cleveland Streets