Olney Street Baptist Church scrapbook, c. 1975
Scope and Contents
The Olney Street Baptist Church scrapbook has a written breakdown of the church’s early history from establishment to Pastor O.S. Paul Thompson’s time. Following this is a timeline of events from 1901-1963, noting major events such as the laying of the cornerstone and entering the newly constructed church.
The next section of the scrapbook is dedicated to the pastors of the Olney Street Baptist Church. The church’s pastors are listed chronologically from E.H. McDonald to Cornelius Williams, the then present pastor of the church (c. 1975). There are 20 pages of the scrapbook dedicated to the pastors of the church, including installation, anniversary, and farewell programs, and newspaper clippings. The next two pages have a copy of the 65th Anniversary program and highlights church groups, then two pages of newspaper clippings with photos of the exterior and interior of the church. Next in the scrapbook is a memorial to Pastor Frank Milton Smith who passed away on August 2, 1973. Included is a newspaper clipping about Smith, titled “Conservative Only Growth Called Myth By Black Pastor.”
The next section of the scrapbook focuses on the constructing of the new Olney Street Baptist Church. The construction of the new church took place under Pastor Percy A. Carter. Images included show the laying of the cornerstone, Carter's speech at the cornerstone laying and the march from Benefit Street to Olney Street for the first service at the new church on July 8, 1963. Several photographs have been removed from this section of the scrapbook and have been placed in one of the accompanying folders.
The remainder of the scrap book contains images from the Olney Street Baptist Church in the 1970s. This includes images from the 1974 Women Day celebration, the installation service of Rev. Cornellius Williams, 73rd Anniversary and BYF youth group.
The scrapbook ends with the names of the scrapbook committee members. James G Mabray, Jesse R Bradley, Dorothy Perry, Dora Barbara, and William Pettiford
Also part of the binder are two folders with photos of the new church construction, cornerstone laying and of the junior and senior boards.
Dates
- Creation: c. 1975
Conditions Governing Access
RIBHS staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.
Extent
From the Collection: .42 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Repository Details
Part of the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society Repository
600 Mt. Pleasant Avenue
Building 8
Providence Rhode Island 02908 USA