Early Omaha: Gateway to the West
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FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH

The Reverend W.J. Kermott was the driving force behind the Baptist movement in Omaha. He was sent to Omaha by the American Baptist Home Mission Society in 1866. The church building in this stereoview was constructed in 1870 on the corner of 15th & Davenport. The Sunday school rooms in the basement were constructed first and services were held there until the upper floor was completed in 1881. Total value of the property was $43,000.

Fire destroyed First Baptist Church on December 4, 1894. The society then purchased two lots on the northeast corner of 35th & Farnam. First Baptist occupied this site until the consolidation of First Baptist and Beth-Eden Baptist Churches on October 25, 1899.