Mount Sinai Baptist Church was founded in the African American community of Cleveland, Ohio, in 1927 by members of Triedstone Baptist Church. David W. Hill served as Mount Sinai Baptist Church's first pastor. The first service of the church was held in an attic on East 55th Street between Quincy and Central Avenues on Cleveland's east side. In 1928 the church moved to the second floor of a store at 5912 Central Avenue. By 1930, the membership of the church had grown rapidly, and the use of a larger building was secured at 2350 East 55th Street.
In 1941, Mount Sinai Baptist Church moved again, this time to a former German church at 2620 East 75th Street. By 1950, Mount Sinai Baptist Church was one of the leading churches in the city, and Rev. David W. Hill resigned due to poor health. Under Hill's leadership the church created a community center, youth church, and home for aged women at the East 75th Street site. Upon David Hill's retirement, his son Luther F. Hill became pastor of Mount Sinai Baptist Church, a position he held for the next twenty-seven years. Under Luther Hill's leadership, the church moved to a larger facility on property purchased at 7510 Woodland Avenue in 1969.
Nine Baptist churches in Cleveland were formed at Mount Sinai Baptist Church. These churches are Neriah Baptist Church; Mt. Moriah Baptist Church; Sharon Baptist Church; St. John Baptist Church; True Light Baptist Church; Salem Baptist Church; Master's Baptist Church; Pleasant Valley Baptist Church; and Sharon Hill Baptist Church. Faith Community United Credit Union was founded at Mount Sinai Baptist Church in 1952, and by 1977 it had assets of $600,000. Mount Sinai Baptist Church was also instrumental in the creation of East Woodland Estates and Community Apartments.
The Mount Sinai Baptist Church Records, 1954-1998 and undated, consist of agendas, anniversary booklets, anniversary programs, annual reports, budgets, by-laws, church covenants, constitutions, a directory, event flyers, financial reports, funeral programs, a history book, letters, minutes, and newsletters.
This collection will be useful to researchers studying the history of religion, the Baptist church, and the African American community on the east side of Cleveland, Ohio, during the last half of the twentieth century. Those studying the activities of pastors David W. Hill and Luther Hill in the 1920s-1980s will find this collection particularly useful.
The collection is arranged alphabetically by document type and then chronologically.
The researcher should also consult MS 5218 Faith Community United Credit Union Records.
Processed by Margaret Burzynski-Bays in 2014.
None.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 5217 Mount Sinai Baptist Church Records, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Gift of Rosalee Bell in 2001.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.