Historic Wheat Street Baptist Church

Encompasses one hundred fifty years of serving as a beacon of hope and light for the Historic Old Fourth Ward Community seated adjacent to

“The Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic District”. In 1869, a small group of parishioners of the First Baptist Church, (presently known as Friendship Baptist Church) grew weary of traveling across town. With the consent of their Pastor, Father Frank Quarles, they organized into a mission that was known as Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church with Reverend Andrew Jackson serving as Pastor from 1869-1874. Their first place of worship was located in the pastor’s yard on Howell Street where worship services were conducted under a “bush arbor”. Over a century, this historic church was blessed with seven outstanding shepherds serving in the following “Men Of God” – William Henry Tillman, Peter James Bryant, J. Raymond Henderson, William Holmes Borders, Sr., Michael Neely Harris, and Ralph Basui Watkins.

This mighty fortress has served as a vital spiritual, civil and social institution for the Sweet Auburn and Historic Old Fourth Ward Communities since its inception. One example of a major institution which began in the basement of the church, was the Butler Street Young Men’s Christian Association in 1894 by J.S. Brandon. The dominant activity for this organization during the early years was songs and prayers on Sunday afternoons.

The present edifice, constructed in August 1921, replaced the original church building destroyed by “The Great Atlanta Fire of 1917” represents a late adaptation of the Gothic Revival Style. The church contains twenty-two (22) classrooms and departmental rooms, vaulted ceiling, and a 2,500 seat capacity in the main sanctuary. This mighty fortress located at 359 Auburn Avenue, “Where The Doors Swing Back On Welcome Hinges”, as coined by Pastor William Holmes Borders, Sr., still remains a vibrant “Holy Ghost” filled house of God serving The Historic Old Fourth Ward Community, City of Atlanta, Nation and World.