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1977: 125 Years of Progress: Suspicious fire leaves First Baptist Church in ruins
Charlottesville has had its own big church fire.
125 Years of Progress: Suspicious fire leaves First Baptist Church in ruins
The Daily Progress staff reports Feb 1, 2017
Fire raced through the sanctuary and education building of the First Baptist Church at the intersection of Second Street NE and E. Jefferson Street on this date in 1977.
Daily Progress reporter Jim Norvelle offered a first-hand account of the blaze as one of the nearly 200 church members who had gathered that Wednesday evening for supper and prayer service. Just after the Rev. H. Cowen Ellis had offered a prayer over the covered-dish dinner, 12-year-old Sarah Booth came up to him and said, “Dr. Ellis, I believe the church is on fire!”
Norvelle’s tense and emotional account told of the initial disbelief of the crowd that the event was anything more than a drill or a bomb scare, many of which had been received recently at the local high schools. He told of the efforts to remove file cabinets, typewriters and office equipment from the building while hearing the breaking glass of the church’s treasured Good Shepherd stained glass windows as they exploded from the heat. The organ was destroyed and the church’s bell collapsed into the flames, breaking into several pieces.
“The sanctuary was already gutted. Dark holes stared at us where once doors and windows stood. It began to look like a bombed out ruin of World War II.”
It was initially believed by investigators that the circumstances surrounding the fire were suspicious but no proof was ever found.
Construction of the church’s present facility on Park Street was well underway when the fire struck and services resumed in June of 1978. Founded in 1831 by the Reverend Reuben Lindsay Coleman, the church was instrumental in the founding of the Albemarle Female Institute whose most famous student was missionary Lottie Moon.
Send news tips to news@dailyprogress.com, call (434) 978-7264, tweet us @DailyProgress or send us a Facebook message here.
The Daily Progress staff reports Feb 1, 2017
Fire raced through the sanctuary and education building of the First Baptist Church at the intersection of Second Street NE and E. Jefferson Street on this date in 1977.
Daily Progress reporter Jim Norvelle offered a first-hand account of the blaze as one of the nearly 200 church members who had gathered that Wednesday evening for supper and prayer service. Just after the Rev. H. Cowen Ellis had offered a prayer over the covered-dish dinner, 12-year-old Sarah Booth came up to him and said, “Dr. Ellis, I believe the church is on fire!”
Norvelle’s tense and emotional account told of the initial disbelief of the crowd that the event was anything more than a drill or a bomb scare, many of which had been received recently at the local high schools. He told of the efforts to remove file cabinets, typewriters and office equipment from the building while hearing the breaking glass of the church’s treasured Good Shepherd stained glass windows as they exploded from the heat. The organ was destroyed and the church’s bell collapsed into the flames, breaking into several pieces.
“The sanctuary was already gutted. Dark holes stared at us where once doors and windows stood. It began to look like a bombed out ruin of World War II.”
It was initially believed by investigators that the circumstances surrounding the fire were suspicious but no proof was ever found.
Construction of the church’s present facility on Park Street was well underway when the fire struck and services resumed in June of 1978. Founded in 1831 by the Reverend Reuben Lindsay Coleman, the church was instrumental in the founding of the Albemarle Female Institute whose most famous student was missionary Lottie Moon.
Send news tips to news@dailyprogress.com, call (434) 978-7264, tweet us @DailyProgress or send us a Facebook message here.
Unfortunately, all the photos at the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society I used to be able to link to are now behind a wall.
Try this:
C'ville Images -- Gone
First Baptist Church, 1917, Rufus Holsinger Built in the early 1900s on the same site as the previous church building, First Baptist Church sat on the corner of Second and East Jefferson Streets, N.E. facing Lee Park. This remarkable structure boasts a massive bell tower and curved walls in the sanctuary. A fire in 1977 completely destroyed the church, just as the congregation was preparing to move to Park Street, their current location. The Queen Charlotte Square condominiums are now located on this block.
Photographs from the Holsinger Collection and John Shepherd are courtesy Special Collection, UVA Library. Other images are from sources noted in the text. All work is copyrighted and is not to be used without permission.
First Baptist Church, 1917, Rufus Holsinger Built in the early 1900s on the same site as the previous church building, First Baptist Church sat on the corner of Second and East Jefferson Streets, N.E. facing Lee Park. This remarkable structure boasts a massive bell tower and curved walls in the sanctuary. A fire in 1977 completely destroyed the church, just as the congregation was preparing to move to Park Street, their current location. The Queen Charlotte Square condominiums are now located on this block.
Photographs from the Holsinger Collection and John Shepherd are courtesy Special Collection, UVA Library. Other images are from sources noted in the text. All work is copyrighted and is not to be used without permission.
C'ville Images -- Roseberry’s Charlottesville
A February 1977 fire destroyed the First Baptist Church on the corner of Second and Jefferson Streets, N.E. Built on this location in the early 20th Century, the brick church was designed in the Romanesque Revival style. The front door faced diagonally toward Lee Park. An ornate belfry located between the columns seen here was destroyed by the fire. The congregation now worships at their current location on Park Street.
All photographs by Edwin S. Roseberry. Images not to be used without permission.
© C’ville Images, 2018
A February 1977 fire destroyed the First Baptist Church on the corner of Second and Jefferson Streets, N.E. Built on this location in the early 20th Century, the brick church was designed in the Romanesque Revival style. The front door faced diagonally toward Lee Park. An ornate belfry located between the columns seen here was destroyed by the fire. The congregation now worships at their current location on Park Street.
All photographs by Edwin S. Roseberry. Images not to be used without permission.
© C’ville Images, 2018
