Rose Hill Missionary Baptist Church: Not on the 101 Mississippi Places to See Before You Die List

 Leaving Natchez this afternoon, I decided on taking in a few of the area's finalists for Preservation in Mississippi's "101 Places in Mississippi to see before you die" list, to add to my visit to St. Mary's Basilica (also on the list) from yesterday.  I programmed the addresses into my GPS (on my new Lexus CT Hybrid's first road trip!) and started out.  From my location, it took me right through the heart of the African American community.  This place is not on the list, but on spying it, I wheeled into the parking space.  I'm thinking it should have made the list, for a lot of reasons, but then, lots of great sites did not make the list.  

The Rose Hill Missionary Baptist Church was organized before the Civil War, and is the oldest organized black Baptist congregation in Mississippi.

A man was sitting in a parked vehicle when I pulled in, and he lowered his window, looking expectantly at me as if to inquire why I was there.  I stepped over to his window and said I had wanted to take a picture of the church, and would that be all right?  He smiled and nodded.  To be truthful, I didn't need permission to take the picture, but I probably did need permission to park in their space whilst I did my photography.  I really need to start carrying my other two lenses with me on road trips.  In crowded spaces, I am finding that I cannot get the view I really want with the limitations of the area.  I settled for taking my usual variety of angles, details, and the "best possible under the circumstances" overall shot.

 The building was constructed in 1908, and contains a 1912 Moller Pipe Organ.

In her Historic Churches of Mississippi (2007), Sherry Pace indicated African American congregations preferred the Gothic Revival style during the period of 1880s-1910s.  Tomorrow, I'll share the efforts at getting to another Gothic Revival black church in this African American neighborhood.