History

Madison First Baptist Church traces its founding back to 1807 when Elder Jesse Vawter called together a group of 15 people in his cabin at the top of what is now Michigan Hill and founded what was then called Crooked Creek Baptist Church. In 1812, the church relocated to Mount Pleasant and became known as Mount Pleasant Baptist. The membership grew rapidly and within a decade of its founding teams were being sent out to form other churches. Several churches in southeastern Indiana find their roots in Madison FBC.

In 1829, the church felt called by God to relocate their ministry to the heart of the nearby, growing metropolis of Madison. That December, the congregation began meeting in public spaces in Madison and began calling themselves the Madison First Baptist Church.  In 1831 they built a small structure on the site of the present church on Vine Street and in April 1831, having sold their meeting house on the hill for $251, permanently moved to town. The site was sold to the church for $50 by the heirs of John Paul.

The congregation quickly outgrew their building and, in 1850, they began construction on a bigger facility with more modem amenities. Construction was sporadic, as they built only as funds became available. Services were held in various public places in downtown Madison until the lower level of the church was completed in 1853. Worship services were conducted in the Lower Auditorium for seven years until the construction of the upper sanctuary was completed in 1860.

The building architecture is Greek Revival. The original plans called for a seventy-one-foot steeple, but a lack of funds cancelled those plans. There is no surviving record of the architect, although it has been suggested to be Francis Costigan.

Various features of the current Sanctuary were added over the years including the stained-glass windows in 1907. The building was added onto several times, beginning with an eight-room addition to the east end of the sanctuary in 1916. The Education Wing added in 1964.

 

.

Legal: Ticket bearers release all private homeowners from any claims that might arise from participation in the Nights before Christmas Candlelight Tour of Homes.