First Baptist Church

In 1883, Pastor T. S. Howell from Bunker Hill Church in rural Marion County, and six local believers met at the courthouse to organize a Baptist church within the city limits of Columbia. Early meetings were held in the courthouse, the Masonic Hall, and the Methodist Church. It was not until 1890 that the first sanctuary was erected on Dale Street near the city cemetery. The First Baptist Church moved to this location on High School Avenue in 1912. The Congregation hosted the Mississippi Baptist Convention in 1913.