First Baptist Church

First Baptist Church was founded on September 5, 1912, by 40 charter members as the second oldest church within Arab’s original one-square-mile town limits. It was first located just off South Main Street on Fry Gap Road, and its first pastor was the Rev. M.K. Taylor, who had previously served for many years at nearby Shoal Creek Baptist Church. Citizens instrumental in its establishment included W.P. “Squire” Marsh and R.J. Riddle, both prominent early settlers and mayors of Arab. After a tornado damaged the former building in 1923, the congregation purchased the present site from J.M. Cotton for $300 and erected a new frame church. In 1948 the congregation replaced it with a substantial brick church that served until 1989, when the present sanctuary was finished.

Arab, Alabama · United States