Church to celebrate milestone
According to historical records, the three oldest churches in Shreveport are First Baptist, First Presbyterian and First Methodist. It is dif cult to say in what order they were formed, but all trace their beginnings to 1845.
All three have moved from their original locations. Each became a landmark in downtown Shreveport and served the growing city in many ways.
They became the core for the religious life in Shreveport and helped the young city weather many hard times through the following decades.
This year, First Baptist Church will celebrate an important milestone.
First Baptist’s original building on Texas Street was erected in 1880 and was located at the northwest corner of Texas and McNeill streets. This is the current site of the Baird Building.
Old photographs show an imposing steeple rising above the skyline of the cityscape.
After several decades, the church outgrew this location and in 1907 moved a short distance to the north on Travis Street to the southeast corner of McNeill Street where Government Plaza now stands.
This site grew to encompass what became a separate sanctuary and facilities.
This grand structure was built to resemble a Graeco-Roman edifice with a dome similar to the Pantheon in Rome.
The sanctuary was large enough to accommodate 1,000 people, and the church’s facilities featured amenities, which included a tea room, which served as a meeting space for the professional women who worked in downtown.
This building became the first Baptist church in the South to comprise 10 stories, have a roof garden and to house its own radio station.
Sermons were also broadcast on KWKH, the largest radio station in the region and one of the most powerful in the entire nation.
Dr. Monroe Elmon Dodd Sr. was First Baptist’s bestknown pastor.
He was the driving force, leading the church from 1912 to 1950. He died in 1952.
Dodd was a visionary in preaching the gospel, expanding his base to the masses via radio and in education.
He was the founder of Dodd College, a private junior college, which operated from 1927 until 1942. The campus was located near Bayou Pierre on Ockley Drive.
At the time of construction, this was on the southern expanding limits of Shreveport.
Dodd’s college was a risky gamble, since most people still lived in or very near downtown.
He dreamed of moving his church out of the somewhat confining constraints of the central business district and into the suburbs but did not live to see this come true.
The church voted to move to the suburbs in 1959.
The site they chose would have pleased Dodd greatly.
First Baptist procured property adjacent to the former Dodd College from Centenary College.
The new building was as grand as its immediate predecessor on Travis Street but in an entirely different manner.
The new structure, the current home of First Baptist Church, is in the Greek Revival style with an imposing bell tower that reaches 10 stories.
After four years of design and construction, the new church opened its doors on Feb. 10, 1963.
The first Sunday service was under the direction of Dr. Frank Middleton.
Since then, First Baptist has become a true anchor in the central part of Shreveport.
This Feb. 10, First Baptist Church celebrates its 50th anniversary at its current location at 543 Ockley Drive.
Dr. Gary Joiner is the Leonard and Mary Anne Selber Professor of History at LSUS, where he is also director of the Red River Regional Studies Center. Questions for “The History Doctor” may be addressed to editor@theforumnews.com.
