North Broad Baptist celebrates 150 years
The church was originally known as Forrestville Baptist.
The church youth will pack a time capsule Sunday to honor the anniversary.
North Broad Baptist Church is celebrating its 150th anniversary Sunday. The church has actually had four names and been located at three sites in North Rome since it was founded in 1867.
The church was originally known as the Forrestville Baptist Church. At the time, that section of North Rome was known as Forrestville. The original building was located where the North Rome Swim Center is currently situated.
In 1881, the church moved to the corner of Calhoun Road and Reservation Street, near the current Floyd County Water Department building. Church historian Phil Carter said he wasn’t sure if the building was where the water department office is at now, or across the street where a small community grocery store currently sits.
The next milestone in church history occurred in 1885 when property at the current location was first purchased. It was renamed North Rome Baptist Church in 1892 and four years later it was renamed the Third Baptist Church. In 1905, the church was officially renamed North Broad Baptist.
The wood frame church was expanded and bricked up in 1929. The original steeple bell was removed and put away in storage for most of the next 40 years.
The ‘new’ sanctuary was dedicated in 1976 along with a bell tower that housed the original bell. That tower was taken down in 2015, but replaced earlier this year to once again help call members to worship.
The Rev. Micah Pritchett and Carter believe Wilma Trotsky to be the member who has been with the church for the longest period of time.
She was a young child in a 1929 photograph of the church taken during renovations at that time. Mary McJunkin, 96, is the church’s oldest active member.
When the church was relocated to North Broad Street, Carter described it as a “community church,” one that most members of the day walked to. “That probably hasn’t been the case since the ’70s or ’80s,” Carter said.
North Broad members were conducting quarterly community brunches long before there was an official Community Kitchen. “We usually feed several
hundred,” Pritchett said.
The church has also been extremely active in the mission field over the past 37 years. Carter said members do a three year rotation with an international mission one year, a national mission the next year and a local mission project during the third year of the rotation.
Youth of the church will be packing a time capsule Sunday with items of the day. The capsule is slated to be opened in 25 years.
The normal service will begin at 10:30 a.m. Sunday and be followed by a banquet in the fellowship hall.