First Baptist Church (Garden City, Minnesota)

First Baptist Church is a historic church in Garden City, Minnesota, United States. The town, along the Watonwan River, was originally established in 1856 as Fremont. A Baptist congregation was formed in the community in 1858, and eight years later, the church was formally organized. In 1867, the membership split amidst a disagreement between members who wanted a more aggressive evangelical mission and members who wanted the status quo. One of the groups moved ahead with plans to build a church, contracting for the delivery of logs to a nearby sawmill. The sawmill was unable to receive the logs before winter came, though, and the logs were washed away in spring flooding.

The capstone with the year 1868

First Baptist Church
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
First Baptist Church viewed from the southwest
Show map of Minnesota Show map of the United States
Location	108 Franklin St., Garden City, Minnesota
Coordinates	44°2′51″N 94°10′0″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1868 (1868)
Architectural style	Greek Revival[1]
MPS	Blue Earth County MRA
NRHP reference No.	80001938[2]
Added to NRHP	July 28, 1980

The congregation then made plans to build a church from concrete blocks made in the town by the firm of Geist and Hentzelman. This structure is believed to be the earliest in the state built of concrete block or artificial stone. The structure was dedicated on January 17, 1869, and the two groups reunited and used it jointly. It measures 33 feet (10 m) by 55 feet (17 m) and was completed at a cost of $4,100.^[3]

Congregationalists and Presbyterians also held services in this building for a time as a combined congregation.^[4]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

References

1. Gebhard, David (1978). A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. p. 277. ISBN 9781452901015. The brick Baptist Church (1860s) is essentially a Greek Revival building.
2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
3. Alan K. Lathrop (2003). Churches Of Minnesota: An Illustrated Guide. University of Minnesota Press. p. 61. ISBN 0816629099.
4. Neill, Edward Duffield (1882). Bryant, Charles S. (ed.). History of the Minnesota Valley: Including the Explorers and Pioneers of Minnesota. Minneapolis: North Star Publishing. p. 588 – via Internet Archive. On account of the weakness in membership the Congregationalists united with the Presbyterians and now hold services in the Baptist church.