History of the Michigan Street Baptist Church
If these walls could talk, they’d tell tales of courage, perseverance, and sacrifice. From Freedom Seekers traveling along the underground railroad to activists laying the foundation for the civil rights movement, the Michigan Street Baptist Church has hosted and witnessed countless heroes united by an unwavering pursuit of progress. Today, the next chapter of the church is being written—one that uncovers its rightful place in America’s history.
The history of the Michigan Street Baptist Church begins in 1836 when a group of African American men met in a brick schoolhouse on South Division Street to incorporate themselves as the Second Baptist Society of Buffalo. In 1845 a group of six trustees purchased land just east of downtown on Michigan Street. The funds used to purchase this land were mainly supplied by Peyton Harris, a formerly enslaved individual who had become one of Buffalo's most successful businessmen. The congregation worked hard over the next few years, dedicating the completed church in 1849.
The Michigan Street Baptist Church quickly became the center of community life for Buffalo's growing Black community. During the early decades of the Church's history, it was especially important to the Underground Railroad. Often noted as the last stop on the Underground Railroad, the Michigan Street Baptist Church became a beacon of hope for countless individuals passing through Buffalo on their way to Canada. Many of these individuals choose to stay in Buffalo and created a good life for themselves. The congregation during this time were active in pre-Civil War abolitionist activities
While there is no documented proof that the Church was used as a hiding space for freedom seekers, it is clear that members of the Michigan Street Baptist Church were intimately involved in the Underground Railroad over a long period of time. A historic structures report of the Church identified fifty-eight people associated with the Michigan Street Baptist Church (including pastors, clerks, deacons, trustees, speakers, and members) before 1870. Many of these participated in—and often led—major abolitionist meetings of African Americans in Buffalo before the Civil War. In addition, many people associated with the Church—including at least two ministers and twenty-five of the twenty-eight people whose birthplaces that could be identified--had either definitely or most likely escaped from slavery themselves.
In 1892, Rev. J. Edward Nash became pastor of the Michigan Street Baptist Church. As a successful preacher and African American advocate Rev. Nash lead the church for more than sixty years until the early-1950s. Under his pastorate the congregation expanded, as did its influence within the community and the Nation. An alliance of parishioners, especially Mary Talbert, with minister J. Edward Nash brought the Michigan Street Baptist Church to
national attention, with the formation of the Niagara Movement (the precursor to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). Members of the Michigan Street Baptist Church actively supported community institutions such as the NAACP, the YMCA, and the National Association of Colored Women’s clubs. Under Nash the building was modernized and the baptistry added, but he felt that it was important to be true to the humble roots of the church and not initiate extensive changes to the 1849 building.
Mrs. Mary B. Talbert
A year prior to Rev. Nash's arrival, Mary B. Talbert became a force in the Michigan Street Baptist Church, in Buffalo, and in the nation, “the most famous black woman in America,” thought Mary White Ovington, one of her co-workers. Mary worked against racism in all its forms and for the rights of African Americans and women. From her protest against an exhibit of African Americans at the Pan-American Exposition to her work with the National Association of Colored Women, to her preservation of Frederick Douglass’s home in Anacostia, to her affiliation with the Niagara Movement, the NAACP, the international peace campaign, and the Anti-lynching Crusaders, she was a whirlwind in her work for justice. The basis of her work and her life—from which she received energy to move
into a national arena, was the Michigan Street Baptist Church. By any measure, she became its most famous member.
During Rev. Nash's leadership and Mary's influence, the congregation grew from a few dozen individuals to over 600. When Rev. Nash retired in 1953, Rev. Porter W. Phillips, Jr., became pastor of the Michigan Street Baptist Church. In 1962, having outgrown the small Church, the congregation moved to their new home and became the Humboldt Parkway Baptist Church. The Michigan Street Baptist Church was sold to the Macedonia Baptist Church, who remained in the building until 1975.
In the 1970s, Buffalo was struggling with Urban Renewal policies. Many of the historic buildings in the Michigan Street Corridor were destroyed. The Michigan Street Baptist Church was purchased for $1 in 1975 by El Bethel Temple Holiness Church, led by Bishop William K. Henderson. Bishop Henderson had grown up in Buffalo near the Michigan Street Baptist Church, living with his aunt and uncle. At age fourteen, Bishop Henderson began his lifelong preaching career. Starting on the streets of Buffalo’s eastside, he moved into a long career as an evangelist and preacher in Buffalo, the West Indies, Canada, and Africa. When the Michigan Street Baptist Church came up for sale in 1974, Bishop Henderson recognized a unique opportunity to settle his congregation in a real church
building, not simply a storefront location.
Bishop William Henderson
Bishop Henderson began to work with partners to help create a plan for the restoration of the Michigan Street Baptist Church in the 1990s. In 2001, Bishop Henderson and other community members organized a new nonprofit, the Buffalo Niagara Freedom Station Coalition, to restore the historic church.
In 2007, the Michigan Street Baptist Church joined the other historic anchors in the Corridor to help form the Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor Commission. Together, the organizations have worked towards creating a model that shares various resources. As a collective, each of the organizations was able to receive significant funding from the State of New York to begin their much needed restoration projects.
The Michigan Street Baptist Church began work on their restoration projects in 2020. As of October 2022, the first phase of restoration, which primarily focused on stabilizing the building, has been completed. The next phases will include building an accessible annex, restoring the interior to a 1849 - 1913 time frame, and adding community gardens.
Further Reading
In 2013 the Buffalo Niagara Freedom Station Coalition was able to hire Crawford & Stearns Architects And Preservation Planners and the Historical New York Research Associates to create a Historic Structures Report for the Michigan Street Baptist Church. The result was a 374 page document that details the history of the Church.