#123: Bull Street Baptist Church

"My faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have, to try to make a difference."

—Jimmy Carter

Bull Street Baptist Church

In the Spring of 2020, just before the COVID-19 epidemic hit the world hard and locked down much of Savannah, I painted the Georgia Historical Society (GHS) building (see PFS-26), which is located just across the street from Forsyth Park Fountain (see PFS-02).

At that time, the GHS had closed its research center in late 2019 to begin a $5 million restoration and expansion project. I managed to catch the scene just before contractors put up scaffolding and other impediments that would hinder its view.

Then the COVID-19 lockdown pushed out the GHS restoration schedule much longer. The construction that was to take one year stretched an additional 20-months, so I could not access its excellent research library for nearly two years in the middle of my Postcards from Savannah project.

In January 2022, the Georgia Historical Society research center reopened its doors to the public, and I'm happy to report my membership card still worked!

This week, I painted this impressive Bull Street Baptist Church scene, located three blocks south of Forsyth Park at 1400 Bull Street.

When I finished the en Plein air painting, the GHS was directly on my path as I walked back to my studio. So, I stopped inside the research center and, with the librarian's happy assistance, found a book entitled Hallmark of Faith: Bull Street Baptist Church 100th Anniversary 1891-1991. It is a beautiful read.

One hundred years is a very long time, and this commemorative history celebrated the church's collective memories in Savannah. Interestingly, the church's inception began when the First Baptist Church on Chippewa Square (see PFS-51) needed a mission for its community outreach.

That mission began in 1869 and was located at Duffy and Abercorn Streets in downtown Savannah. The location became the home of the Duffy Street Baptist Church in 1887. Its first pastor, Edloe Pendleton Jones, began his ministry in 1891, marking the church's official opening.

Then the weather made life more challenging for Savannahians. In 1896, a hurricane hit the city hard. Many lives were lost, and hundreds of buildings lost roofs in the terrible storm. The Savannah newspaper described Duffy Street Baptist Church as "a total wreck." The congregation rebuilt.

Many pastors came and went over the years, and the church made slow but steady progress, changing its name to Second Baptist Church. Two crucial milestones came in 1916. A member named Mrs. Leila Hicks gifted as a memorial to her late husband a large lot where Bull Street intersects with Anderson Street. And then William Ashley Taliaferro became pastor and served for 27-productive-years.

An architectural design for a new church building was soon in motion, based on the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. The church as it stands today remains impressive. The name was changed in 1927 to Bull Street Baptist Church to avoid confusing it with the Second African Baptist Church on Greene Square (see PFS-102).

The congregation's challenges continued, carefully recorded in Hallmark of Faith—wars, a depression, racial conflict, debt repayment, member disagreements—to remind us all: This Too Shall Pass.