FIRST BAPTIST CHULICH.



          Historical Sketch.
                BY Rav. W. M. PRATT, D. D.

   The present First Baptist Church of Lexington was
constituted in I817. George W. Ranck, in his History
of Lexington, page 19, gives the following account:
"In that year (i817), on the 4th of January, a number of
its (Town Fork) scaftered members assembled and re-
organized the church, with the assistance of Elders Toler,
Jacob Creath, sen., and Jeremiah Vardeman; Berry
Stout being moderator and Samuel Ayers, clerk." On
the church list of rembers kalbqn -that time, we find,
among others; tl1P.nPr of f j4itr tter, R. Higgins,
William C. Wafidld, Walter'Wagil'e'ld, W. H. Richardson,
William Stonle 'MattheW Wktef,) Williaim, Jayne, Edward
Payne, J. a ,Mortory, J C .C. iiaaseni, Gabtiel Tandy,
Thomas Lewis, and WiiJiatV Poindexter. The congre-
gation met at this4 tinei ccb  pe  of Transylvania
University, but iniffiediYd 9tbps' ere' taken to build a
new house of worship. It was completed and occupied
in October, i8i9, and located on North Mill street, op-
posite the College Lawn. It was a substantial two-story,
provided with galleries.
   Immediately after re-organization of the church, Dr.
James Fishback, who had just been ordained to the Bap-
tist ministry, was called to the pastorate at a salary of
4o0 per year, a sum considered at that time quite extra-
ordinary for a preacher's services.  His pastorate ex-
tended from i817 to i826. A quaint feature of the day
was the custom, kept up for a long time, of the Mill
Street Church, of giving out hymns line after line. Mr.
Ranck furthermore states respecting this first pastor of
the church: "In i826 the influence of the religious
movement, headed by Barton Stone and Alexander
Campbell, caused the introduction of a resolution into the
First Baptist Church to change its name to 'the Church
of Christ,' which was advocated and opposed by the two
parties which had then formed in the church.  After a