Filed Under African American

Tupper Memorial Baptist Church

Dr. Henry Martin Tupper founded the church in 1866 as Second Baptist Church, providing religious services and classes for African Americans, including theological training for preachers, adult education, and eventually high school and grade school lessons. Eventually, classes outgrew the church and moved to the Raleigh Institute, later Shaw University. Dr. Tupper served the university as its first president. In 1912, a Gothic Revival frame church replaced the 1866 building; renovations in 1957 included the addition of brick veneer, new windows, and buttresses. The 1940 name change to Tupper Memorial honors its founder, who died in 1893.

Date: 1912, renovated in 1957 and 1976

Images

Tupper Memorial Baptist Church, 2009
Tupper Memorial Baptist Church, 2009 Image by Michael Zirkle Photography, copyright Raleigh Historic Development Commission.
Prince Hall and Tupper Memorial Baptist Church, 1984
Prince Hall and Tupper Memorial Baptist Church, 1984 Image courtesy of the North Carolina State Archives.

Location

501 South Blount Street

Metadata

RHDC, “Tupper Memorial Baptist Church,” Raleigh Historic, accessed October 22, 2024, https://raleighhistoric.org/items/show/99.