First Baptist Church at 100

In late 1904, a small band of local Baptists gathered for meetings at several locations in and around our town.

The group had no regular pastor or a permanent location, but this was soon to change.

On Dec. 6, 1904, the Rev. Gardner and his wife arrived in Huntington Beach from Long Beach to spend a short Christmas vacation.

While here, he met the small band of Baptists, and he helped organize them into the First Baptist Church in our town. That week the membership secured a lot at what today would be 326 Main St.

A small wooden chapel was constructed on this site, with Gardner heading the carpentry work that began on Jan. 10, 1905. As the sun set and darkness came on Saturday, Jan. 15, the little chapel was finished and ready for services the next day.

This week and in the coming weeks, we’ll look back at the glorious hundred-year history of this church. I am indebted to Jim Simpson and Mary Spuhler, historians for the church, for supplying me with so much wonderful material.

The following Sunday, Gardner dedicated the one-room church building and held the first service, attended by charter members who included Rev. and Mrs. Gardner, Mr. and Mrs. Lamon, Mrs. F.F. Corbett, E.O. Wright and Cora Graybill Hearn.

In a short time, the congregation began to expand and outgrew the little chapel, and so the membership began to look about for a larger location.

In early 1906, the membership located a lot at the corner of Orange Avenue and Sixth Street. A building committee was quickly formed, and by March 1906 construction began.

J.B. Ramsey from Santa Ana laid the concrete foundation and helped with the plastering of the inside walls, and his sons hauled sand from the beach to make the concrete and plaster.

It was during this construction period that the church officially became the First Baptist Church of Huntington Beach.

Construction continued the following month as walls were erected, plastered and painted and the final touches were added to the building.

All day on Saturday, May 9, 1906, members of the congregation were kept busy decorating the interior with cut flowers and potted plants for the dedication ceremony the next morning.

Pews were brought in, a gift from Mr. and Mrs. William McKinney, the Odd Fellows lodge loaned chairs for the service and on Sunday, June 17, the first Sunday School and communion service were held.

The Rev. Layfett C. Haulman, the pastor of our local Christian Church, opened the afternoon service with a scripture reading followed by the song “God is Love,” sung by the Pardo sisters.

A prayer was offered by Rev. George Graff from our local Methodist church, and after this came a solo rendition of “Face to Face,” sung by Mrs. Mills of Santa Ana.

Dr. J. Herminn Garrett, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Santa Ana, gave a talk on “What Baptists Stand For,” and Rev. Petty from the Southern California Baptist Convention congratulated the congregation on all their hard work.

Pledges were made, including a gift of $500 from the Baptist Home Mission Society, another $500 from the Baptist Convention and a $250 gift from the Huntington Beach Co.

The evening service that first day included a short talk by Emma Miller, of the Women’s Baptist Home Mission Society, on her organization.

Scott’s Orchestra supplied the music during the evening service, and the choir rendered several gospel songs. The evening service concluded with a sermon on Nicodemus delivered by Rev. S. Heartwell Pratt from New York.

Rev. Gardner would continue to serve as pastor for another year. That first wooden chapel he helped construct on Main Street was moved to several locations and finally ended up at 1018 Delaware St., where it served as a residence for the James Gillis family for several years.

When I told Jim Simpson where this building could be found, he rushed right over to see it, only to find that the building was gone and two new cracker-box houses now stood on the site.

Next week, we’ll continue our look at the rich history of this church and how it has contributed to the golden history of our town.