First Baptist Church of Canton was the first organized church in the city. It was founded under the leadership of the Rev. J. B. McDaniel, its first pastor, on Sept. 21, 1871. Its charter members were Francis M. and Sue L. Hobbs; Mary King; Montgomery W. and Nancy Knox; Melissa J. and Silphia McCarthy; Elizabeth, Francis, Robert, and Robert McClellen, Jr.; Allen W. and Martha Riley; Susan Wages; and Martha Jane Willis. F. M. Hobbs was the first clerk, and W. M. Knox, D.L. Riley, and W. N. Hale were early deacons. A Sunday School began in 1885. A purchased school building at this site served as the first church, another was built in 1906, and the present plant was completed in 1959.