5. Baptist Church

Stages of History Baptist Church plaque

 

The top of this interpretive panel features a cross section of a Carillon Bell, such as the one that graces the bell tower of the church. The tree on the top left corner is a Cedar of Lebanon, which once grew in front of the church. The panel is also decorated with a scallop shell, symbolizing the baptism, and vines of ivy, which symbolize faithfulness and eternal life.

The First Baptist Church of Edmonds was the second church constructed in downtown Edmonds and is the oldest house of worship remaining in downtown. 

 Starting with just ten members in 1909, the small congregation raised funds, bought land and built a modest 30' x 66' single-story church at the corner of 6th Ave N and Edmonds St, which was then called Hebe Way. 

In 1929, the congregation purchased a lot at 4th Ave N and Bell St and moved the building to the new site, adding a basement to the foundation. In 1946, the church moved a house onto the east end of the lot to serve as a parsonage. A few years later the parsonage and the church building were joined together, and the church was extensively remodeled to the structure's present form.  The white picket fence that graces the front of the property was added in the 1980s. 

In 1986, the City of Edmonds removed the church's beloved Lebanon Cedar Tree, citing danger to underground utilities. The landmark tree had been planted in the 1930s and symbolized strength and endurance to the small congregation.

In 2003, with membership in the First Baptist Church down to only 19 people, the church merged with the Bothell-based Northshore Baptist Church, becoming North Sound Church.