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Eighth and Center Streets Baptist Church

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1872. 722 Center St.
  • (Photograph by Cole Woodcox)
  • (Photograph by Cole Woodcox)
  • (Photograph by Cole Woodcox)
  • (Photograph by Cole Woodcox)
  • (Photograph by Cole Woodcox)

This, the second church built on this site, is a landmark for the local African American community. Previously worshipping in a building that accommodated both blacks and whites, the free black congregation purchased the land for a new sanctuary in 1853, following the Baptist Church's 1845 nationwide split over the issue of slavery. That building was replaced by this one, with an added school, in 1872. The designer of this front-gabled, rectangular church made the most of the possibilities of the site's slope, giving the building a tall facade and strong presence on Center Street. Marked verticals are established by the pilasters, the tall and narrow round-arched paired windows in the center of the facade and their flanking single windows, and the arcaded corbel table along the gable. The interior retains its original metal ceiling and cornice, as well as a small balcony. The twelve stained glass windows document black social life in Hannibal, and each bears the name of the fraternal organization that donated it.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Cole Woodcox
Coordinator: 
Osmund Overby, Carol Grove, and Cole Woodcox
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Data

Timeline

  • 1872

    Built

Citation

Cole Woodcox, "Eighth and Center Streets Baptist Church", [Hannibal, Missouri], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/MO-01-127-0001.

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