First Baptist is a church based out of Ironton, Ohio. The church is one of the oldest congregations in town and also one of the richest histories. Here at First Baptist we believe that part of knowing who you are is knowing where you came from, and we hope this history gives whoever is reading a better understanding of First Baptist Church, Ironton.

 

In 1814, John Lee accepted the pastorate of the Storms Creek Baptist Church, whose house of worship was built on his property by the members of the Ohio Baptist Church. At that time, the church was just a little log building. It was not long before erosion endangered the church, so the congregation built a frame church about a block away. In 1817, the first road was constructed through Lawrence County and Rev. Lee and others began to dream of an association of Baptist churches. Apparently, Lee called together a group of people, and on November 20, 1820, they began the Ohio Baptist Association by writing a constitution and deciding on a date and site for the first Association meeting: Saturday, August 18, 1821, at Tigert’s Creek Church.

 

Information about Rev. Lee shows him to be a giant among the pioneers of our county. He is the father of many churches, and his tombsotne, which at this writing can be viewed in Henry Cemetery, off Deep Cut Road just outside Ironton, reads: “In memory of JOHN LEE who died January 20, 1840 in the 71 year of his age. He was a Baptist Preacher 40 years and Moderator of th eOhio Association and Pastor of five churches viz Storms or Solliday or Symmes, Providence, and Ice Creek. My Life is past and I am at last called from my churches home.”

 

After John Lee’s deathin 1840, his grandson, James Kelley became the pastor. Rev. Kelley himself supervised the building of the church on lower Fifth and Vernon corner and gave $1000 as a personal contribution. Mrs. James Henry, Rev. Lee’s daughter, donated the large timers. The foundation for the Baptist Church was laid in 1854 and during that same year a “very fine-toned bell” came from Cincinnati by steamboat. It weighed approximately 1070 pounds.

 

Susan Brownell Anthony held a lecture at the church in 1878. She was a reformer and leader in the woman suffrage movement, who had been arrested, in 1872, for voting.