Last updated: April 7, 2025
Place
First Baptist Church
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Location:
Nicodemus, Kansas
Significance:
First Church in Nicodemus
Designation:
National Historic Site
OPEN TO PUBLIC:
No
Built in 1907, the historic First Baptist Church represents the long history of the faith in Nicodemus. Faith is one of the five pillars that supports the community.
The First Baptist Church congregation in Nicodemus pre-dates this building. In 1877, Reverend Simon P. Roundtree, one of the Nicodemus Town Company promoters, delivered the first Baptist service in Nicodemus. In 1878, Reverend Silas M. Lee formally organized the First Missionary Baptist Church. The congregation met in dugouts—a small home built into the ground, often on the side of a hill—until 1879, when they built a sod church near the site of the present-day church.
In 1880, the congregation replaced the sod building with a limestone church on the northeast corner of Washington Avenue and 4th Street. This building saw the boom period of Nicodemus and an increase in its congregation.
For the people of Nicodemus, religious life and social life often intersected. They used the First Baptist Church not just as a place of worship, but as a social meeting place. Ice cream and strawberry socials, school recitals, lectures, concerts, and literary society meetings were just a few of the events that took place in this church throughout the year. During the annual Emancipation Celebration, the First Baptist Church hosted potluck dinners and a variety of entertainment.
The First Baptist Church also held rallies to encourage new converts. These were well-advertised and could become large events, with baptisms often occurring at the Solomon River south of town or Spring Creek west of town.
Even as the town population of Nicodemus declined after the late 1880s, the First Baptist Church stayed strong and even grew. The congregation’s growth plus the weakening structure of the 1880 church led to the start of construction in 1906 on a new, larger church. This church, finished in 1907, is the historic building visitors can see today.
According to oral histories, this 1907 church was built around the 1880 church so that services could continue during construction. After the new church’s completion, the old church was taken apart and removed piece by piece through the door and windows.
The First Baptist Church in its new building remained highly active. Sunday services themselves brought in not just town residents but also people who lived on homesteads in Nicodemus Township, and many recall the bustle of people in town on Sundays to worship and socialize. On top of weekly services, the church also continued to host a variety of events and rallies.
“There was a party given for the visitors last Friday night at the First Baptist Church, and they were well pleased with the entertainment. There was also ice cream and candy served free of charge after the program. Mrs. R. B. Clark gave an address on behalf of the people of the community and was greatly liked by all.”
-Hill City Republican, August 16, 1917
The First Baptist Church also has a vibrant musical tradition. For many decades, the church had a large and active choir. In the 1970s, the First Missionary Baptist Choir performed across Kansas and in 1984, recorded two albums under the direction of Reverend Robert R. Allen. The Williams Sisters—Emma, Ernestine, LuElla, Pearlena, and Theresa,—were a Nicodemus gospel group who toured and performed across Kansas and nearby states in the mid-1900s and recorded an album in 1973.
Throughout the years, the historic First Baptist Church saw many structural changes. In the 1920s, due to the heavy weight of its slate roof shingles, concrete buttresses were installed on the church’s eastern wall to prevent it from buckling. In the 1930s, dust storms knocked down the bell tower, which was never rebuilt. The congregation covered the limestone walls with stucco in the 1950s to preserve them. Emphasizing the importance of the church in their lives, Nicodemus residents made sure the First Baptist Church was the first building in town to receive electricity, on February 1st, 1950.
Despite efforts to stabilize the church, the building continued to grow unstable, and the First Baptist congregation built a new church in the mid-1970s, where they still meet every Sunday. The congregation used the old First Baptist Church as a meeting space until the building was deemed unsafe in the mid-1980s.
In August 2024, Nicodemus National Historic Site acquired the historic First Baptist Church building from the still-active congregation, and plans are currently being made to restore the church and continue to showcase its important role in Nicodemus history.
The five pillars of Nicodemus are five core values emphasized to achieve supportive and viable communities. Often, opportunities to experience these values were previously denied African Americans while enslaved and following emancipation: religion (culture of community), self-government (autonomy and decision-making), education (knowledge), family (extended community), and business (entrepreneurs).