Historical Markers - Religious Sites
Assumption Church
Nashville's second oldest Catholic Church, dedicated Aug. 14, 1859, its rectory on right was added in 1874, school on left in 1879. The present altar, windows, and steeple were added later. The Germantown neighborhood grew around it; sermons were often in German until World War I. The parish has produced many nuns and priests, including Archbishop John Floersh and Cardinal Stritch.
Location: 1227 Seventh Avenue, North
Black Churches of Capitol Hill
1. First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill (1848) 2. Gay Street Christian Church (1859) 3. Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church (1887) 4. St. Andrews Presbyterian Church (1898) 5. St. John A.M.E. Church (1863) 6. Spruce Street Baptist Church (1848). These six churches stood within 1/6 mile of this marker.
These six Black churches stood in the center of Nashville's prosperous Black business district before the Capitol Hill Redevelopment Program. Several began before the Civil War as "missions" or Sunday School classes of earlier white churches. All boasted memberships of over 1,000 by 1910 and claimed the city's most prominent Black business and professional families. All but one moved in the 1950s, and all continue to serve the Nashville community.
Location: James Robertson Parkway and Charlotte Pike
Cane Ridge Cumberland Presbyterian Church
Cane Ridge Cumberland Presbyterian Church, built in 1859, replaced a log building which occupied land donated by Edwin Austin & Thomas Boaz in 1826. One of the best known pastors was Hugh Bone Hill, who also preached at the Jerusalem Church in Rutherford County. Isaac Johnson, a Revolutionary War soldier, died 1839 and is buried in the church cemetery.
Location: Antioch, 13411 Old Hickory Boulevard
Christ Church Cathedral
Organized in 1829, Christ Church was Nashville's first Episcopal parish. The present Victorian Gothic church, designed by Francis Hatch Kimball of New York, opened for services on Dec. 16, 1894; the tower, by local architect Russell E. Hart, was added in 1947. Designated the Cathedral for the Diocese of Tennessee at the 1995 Diocesan Convention.
Location: 900 Broadway
Disciples of Christ Historical Society
Library and archives of the 19th c. American religious unity movement which became: The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); Christian Churches; and Churches of Christ. Located here, 1958, in the Thomas W. Phillips Memorial. Architects: Hoffman & Crumpton; Hart, Freeland & Roberts. Sculptor: Puryear Mims. Stained glass artist: Gus Baker.
Location: 1101 Nineteenth Avenue, South
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church
This building, renowned for its pure Gothic architecture and harmony of proportions, was designed by Wills and Dudley of New York, in a style suggesting an English village church. The cornerstone was laid May 7, 1852, by Bishop James Otey. The church was used as a powder magazine by the Union Army for several months during the Civil War.
Location: Ewing Avenue, Lafayette, and Sixth Avenue, South.
Note: The exact date in May 1852 of the laying of the cornerstone is still disputed. Three dates are possible May 6, May 7, and May 29.
Mill Creek Baptist Church and Graveyard
Mill Creek Baptist Church, mother church of Southern Baptists in Davidson County, occupied two meeting houses at this site from 1797 until the early 20th century. Here, in 1833, Baptists formed the first Tennessee Baptist Convention. The church's graveyard includes the graves of many early settlers of both African and European descent.
Location: Glenrose Avenue at Dodge Drive
Vine Street Temple
Nashville's Jewish community began in the 1840s. Many early families were immigrants fleeing oppression in Germany, Russia, and Poland. Completed in 1876, the Vine Street Temple, with nine Byzantine domes was Nashville's first synagogue, for 80 years a symbol of the city's strong Jewish presence. In 1955, the Reform congregation moved to West Nashville where it and other Jewish congregations continue today.
Location: Commerce Street and Seventh Avenue, North