Ridgewood Baptist Church

Front inscription

Ridgewood Baptist Church organized in 1925. Members initially worshipped in the yard of Robert and Lillie Knightner’s family home on Monticello Road. They acquired this site in 1927. Also known as Ridgewood Tabernacle Baptist Church, the congregation built their first house of worship soon after with help from other neighborhood residents. Baptisms were initially conducted in a branch of Crane Creek to the east.

Reverse inscription

Ridgewood’s founding minister was Rev. Zachariah E. Dennis, who served the congregation until his 1955 death. During that time the church became an important institution for African American residents of the Ridgewood neighborhood. The first church was torn down and replaced in 1964 by a brick building that still stands. Congregants later built a family life center and began a number of community programs.