What was placed in the cornerstone at Antioch Baptist Church?

Antioch Baptist Church in Camden, Ala.

Our nation observed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a couple of weeks ago, on Jan. 15, and tomorrow (Thursday) marks the start of Black History Month. My children, like most others, didn’t have to go to school on King’s birthday, which got me and my nine-year-old son to talking about King, who was assassinated seven years before I was even born. Above all else in our talk, my son was surprised to hear that King was no stranger to Wilcox County during the Civil Rights Movement.

With this in mind, we piled up in my truck a few days ago and took a short field trip to the historic Antioch Baptist Church, where King spoke to large crowds at least twice during the mid-1960s. Sources say that King spoke to the congregation there on March 1, 1965, which was the Monday before the infamous “Bloody Sunday” in Selma on March 7, 1965. He spoke there again on April 29, 1966 to a crowd of about 1,500 listeners, who’d braved rain and hot weather to hear him speak.

On the day of our visit to Antioch Baptist Church, it was cold, but sunny. There was a funeral going on up the street, and we talked in hushed tones as we walked around, admiring the church’s impressive, unique exterior. It was left to our imaginations what the church grounds would have looked like when King visited to speak.

On the east corner of the building, we noticed an old cornerstone that read: Antioch Baptist Church, Built by Rev. H. Allen, 1870. Rebuilt 1924, Rev. W.B. Foster, Pastor. Later, I researched the names on this cornerstone and learned that, according to the Alabama Historical Commission, the Rev. Henry Allen, Antioch’s first minister, was a brick mason, who was born in South Carolina. He was about 43 years old in 1870. Foster was a minister at the church in the early 20^th Century, and the church flourished under his leadership as the congregation grew and the building itself underwent “major structural renovations,” according to the historical commission.

It should come as no surprise to learn that that Antioch Baptist Church was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on Nov. 13, 1996. Not only was it placed on this prestigious list of historic places for its role in the Civil Rights Movement, but also because it was part of the “rapid expansion of African American churches following the Civil War,” according to historical commission documents. The church is also considered historically important because of its unique architecture.

In the end, I’d like to hear from anyone in the reading audience with more information about other visits that King made to Wilcox County and from anyone with more information about the Rev. Henry Allen and the Rev. W.B. Foster. Also, if anyone has more information about the church’s history they’d like to share, please let me know. I’m especially curious to know what, if anything, was placed in the church’s cornerstone when it was put down in the 1920s.