Evergreen Baptist Church: A Brief History
On March 15, 1845 ten people gathered in the home of George and Mary Brown to discuss the formation of a church. At this meeting, led by Alexander Travis, a church was formed consisting of seven members and by resolution named “The Evergreen Church.” The Articles of Faith as published by the Bethlehem Baptist Association were adopted and in September 1845 membership in the Association was granted.
As with most small rural churches at the time, the Evergreen Church met for “preaching” once or twice a month. It appears that Father Travis (as he was affectionately called) nurtured the new church as pastor until April 1846. The association letter of 1846 indicates a church membership of 18.
The church reported to the Bethlehem Baptist association meeting in 1858 a total of 74 members. The church was meeting in the Union Church Building on Main Street which it shared with Methodists, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians.
With the War Between the States raging the church continued to grow. The 1864 report recorded a membership of 194. In May of 1870, some church members decided to form another church of the same faith.
Under Pastor Andrew Jay the church moved to the lower half of the Masonic Hall but it later burned. In 1878 a committee was appointed to inquire about purchasing the Union Church Building. The 1878 annual report to the association gave the total membership as 64. The Union Church Building was purchased for $400 but was destroyed by a cyclone on April 19, 1881. Mr. G. F. Mertins gave the church an eighty foot plot on Park Street which is now the front parking lot.
In 1893 the Louise Short Baptist Widows’ and Orphans’ Home was founded by Evergreen Church. This was to become The Alabama Baptist Children’s Home. The church also started a mission in Wallace and one in Castleberry, which became the Castleberry Baptist Church.
In 1897 the roll stood at 281 members and the lot on which the present sanctuary building stands was purchased. This building was completed in 1908 and developed out of “the Dayton Plan” with folding doors on one side which could be opened to enlarge the worship space.
The first educational building was built in 1956 and the mission which was to become Bower Memorial Baptist Church was begun in 1958. In 1968 a second educational building (Croom Hall) was built. The Child Development Center was opened in 1971. The congregation was led to erect the Activities Building in 1975 and has subsequently acquired several adjacent pieces of property. The hill where the church building sits provides an inspiring view to travelers through Evergreen. The renovation of the sanctuary was completed in 2001 and the sanctuary was re-dedicated on October 21,2001.
On March 15, 2020, a joyful 175th anniversary celebration was held.