Kennesaw First Baptist Church

The article below was written for Around Kennesaw magazine, but the magazine closed before it could be published. It is about the history of Kennesaw First Baptist Church. It was intended to be a companion to a June 2022 on Kennesaw United Methodist Church.

~~~

In 1877, Rev. J. A. McMurray and Rev. W. H. Dean came to Big Shanty (present-day Kennesaw) to start a Baptist church. The congregation began with fourteen members. By the end of the year, that number had grown to fifty-one with a Sunday school of a similar size. The church originally met in a building called the Good Templars Hall in Downtown Kennesaw.

In June of the next year, a new building was dedicated near where the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History is today. The June 20, 1878, Christian Index and South-Western Baptist said it was “36 by 50 feet… well ventilated, nicely carpeted and finished generally.” At the time, there was still $150 dollars left to pay for the building’s construction, but after a speech from Col. J. R. Brown, members of the community were inspired to donate the rest of the funds. The church would use this building until 1902. (Later accounts say it was opened in 1879, and I have not yet found an explanation for the discrepancy.)

An article in the August 25, 1886, Atlanta Journal mentioned that “for morality the Big Shantyites are noted… At present there is a glorious revival in progress at the Baptist church.” The article made special mention of Rev. J. S. Reynolds, the church’s pastor, who had come to Big Shanty in 1885. Reynolds became quite popular with the community, and in the 1890s he was elected Mayor of Kennesaw.

In 1900, Hiram A. Butler gave the church money to purchase land for a new building. Butler played a small role in the Great Locomotive Chase, and his home is now the visitor center at Smith-Gilbert Gardens. Though it is unknown when Mr. Butler began attending church in Kennesaw, Mrs. Butler was one of the original fourteen members. Using the money Butler donated, the church’s building committee purchased land on North Main Street from Jane E. Shumway for a new structure in September 1900. The new building was made of wood, opened in 1902, and was dedicated in 1903. It sat on the same property as the current church but was closer to downtown. The September 27, 1900, Marietta Journal referred to the property as a “beautiful grove,” while a later 1910 article mentioned the land was 14 acres.

Sometime between 1902 and 1908, the church decided to create a cemetery. Only one individual was ever laid to rest at the Baptist church. In 1908 and 1909, it became a point of contention in the community. E. G. Hill, a neighbor of the church, sued the deacons because of how close the cemetery was to local homes. The court ruled against the church, but the solitary burial was left undisturbed. (Who this person was – or what happened to them – is not known). Newspaper accounts indicate that in early 1910 the Baptist cemetery played a significant role in local council elections.

In 1910, a homecoming event was organized for former church members. Four of the original members were able to attend and were able to see how the church had grown to 176 members. More homecoming events would be held into the 1920s. In the 1930s, the church was home to its own basketball team that played churches from across the Atlanta Area in the Dixie League.

Around 1930, a major storm came through Kennesaw and severely damaged the church, causing it to lean to one side. Church members were able to fasten cables to the building to keep it in place but never found a way to repair the damaged structure. In 1952, after another storm, it was torn down and replaced by a brick church. Pieces from the older building were reused. It opened in May 1952.

In 1969, ground was broken on a new sanctuary for the church. It was opened later that year, and still stands prominent on North Main Street. It was dedicated in honor of Ernest Wayne Leonard, who was a member of the church and was killed in the Korean War in 1951. Outside the sanctuary is a bell believed to date back to the 1878 church.

Over the past fifty years, the church building has expanded several times. During this period, the name also changed from the Kennesaw Baptist Church to the First Baptist Church of Kennesaw to Kennesaw First Baptist Church. An Education Building was added in 1987 and a children’s wing was added in 1991. The most recent addition is a new Gathering Center used for worship services.

Since the 1870s, Kennesaw First Baptist Church has sat at the heart of Kennesaw. It has a fascinating history spanning decades and generations.