General Info

Second Baptist Church was founded on March 12, 1834 by 53 members from First Baptist Church of Rochester ( which had 369 members at the time ). Second Baptist Church met at the home of David Barton on April 8. They purchased a building on the corner of Main St. and Clinton Ave. from Third Presbyterian Church and began worshipping there on April 12, 1834. The first pastor was Elon Galusha. The meeting house burned in 1859 and a new church building was built on the corner of North and Achilles Streets in 1860. By 1862 the membership was 555. Another fire in 1892 made it necessary to rebuild. By 1893, the congregation moved into a much larger building facing Franklin Street. In 1924, the Second Baptist Church voted to build a large office building and renamed the church as The Baptist Temple. The large 1893 church building was torn down to make room for the 14 story office building and large sanctuary. The congregation moved in in 1925. That building still stands on the block surrounded by Franklin Street, Liberty Pole Way, and Achilles Street.