In 1915, the congregation of the People's Baptist Church, which had been meeting in South Ward Hall for more than twenty-five years, bought this 1857 building for $1200. Though officially Baptist, its membership was multidenominational. For decades it was the heart of Black Portsmouth's social, political, and spiritual life. Among its many distinguished visitors was the young Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., who preached here on October 26, 1952. People's Church dissolved itself in 1968 after the congregation had earlier separated into two groups. One of them, New Hope Baptist Church, acquired title to the building and remained its owner until 1984, when it was sold to facilitate building a new church on Peverly Hill Road.