First Baptist Church
127 East Pine Street
Fort Bragg
Built 1889
Remodeled 1913

The Fort Bragg congregation began meeting in the 1880s. For a time, meetings were held in the the Weller House where an organ was lowered in through the roof. The congregation soon split into Presbyterians and Baptists.

In the late 1880s, the Fort Bragg Lumber Company deeded land for a Baptist church. A Victorian-style church was completed in 1889. In 1913, the building was enlarged and completely remodeled in the Mission revival style of architecture, an uncommon style this far north in California.

The inscription reads on the base of the old bell reads:

First Baptist Church Bell

Cast in England and brought around the Horn. First bell in Fort Bragg. It hung in the steeple from 1890-1952. It summoned worshipers to church, sounded fire alarms and curfew.

Presented by
Native Daughters of the Golden West No. 210. March 19, 1983