The History of First Calvary Baptist Church Salisbury, NC

Edited excerpts from

A Brief Documented History of First Calvary Baptist Church

 (formerly Dixonville Baptist Church) by the late Dr. Louise Roundtree,

a librarian at Livingstone College and member of the church.

There are two accounts of the church’s early beginnings.  In an early church history by Mrs. Ada P. Craver, First Calvary Baptist Church, formerly Dixonville  Baptist Church, was organized in 1866 under a “brush arbor” with the Reverends Harry Cowan and Zuck Haughton serving as joint pastors.  Rev. Cowan was known as the “Father of North Carolina Baptists” and was the leader in establishing this early Baptist  Church in Salisbury.  The second account states that the Rowan Baptist Association was organized in 1866 in an old abandoned confederate hospital at Salisbury which was purchased by the Baptists and organized into  Dixonville  Baptist Church.

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Both accounts agree that the first church lot was located on the present site and that a white man by the name of Dixon gave an acre of land for the development of Colored Freedmen forever, according to records in the Rowan County Deed Book.  The congregation named the first church Dixonville Baptist Church in honor of Mr. Dixon.

Around 1910, with Rev. A. S. Croom as pastor, the first new church –a brick structure  and a parsonage were erected and acreage was purchased for a school site.  In 1926, the name of the church was changed  from Dixonville Baptist to First Calvary Baptist Church.  Under the pastorate of Rev. W. R. Monroe (1956-1964), double lots were purchased adjacent to the original  properties and a new parsonage and duplex were constructed.  

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In the early 1960s, during a federal urban revitalization project, a 50 acre tract was purchased for the construction of the current facilities – a modern church structure and a new parsonage.  The L-shaped building, which consists of a 450-500  seat sanctuary and a two-level educational wing, was dedicated on July 30 1967.  The new parsonage was completed in December, 1973 and dedicated on March 3, 1974.  Still, growth and programs demanded additional .space.  An annex containing a large multipurpose room, modern kitchen, storage and restroom areas was dedicated on November 20, 1979, and on May 28, 1989, the mortgage was burned, assuring the church of a debt-free annex.

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Through the years, First Calvary has been blessed with an outstanding group of ministers, each bringing a different   perspective to the calling.  The founder, Rev. Harry Cowan (1866-1868) , is known as the  “Father of North Carolina Baptists”.  He is also credited with establishing other churches in the area, including Mt. Zion Baptist Church.

A roll call of succeeding pastors include Rev. Zuck Haughton, Sr. (1866-1874), Rev. A.M. Conway (1875-1879), Rev. John O. Crosby (1880-1889), Rev. Peter Simon Lewis (1889-1897), Rev. G. W. Johnson (dates unknown), Rev. William  Mintor (1898-1899), Rev. Lewis T. Christmas (1899-1900), Rev. L.W. Watson (1900-1901), Rev. David W. Montgomery (1903-1907, Rev. A. S. Croom (1907-1927), Rev. Leroy C. Huff (1927-1930), Rev. Walter A. Tutt (1931-1947) Rev. S.R. Johnson, Jr. (1947-1956),  Rev. W. R. Monroe  (1956-1964), Rev. T.D. Walker, Sr. (1965-1983), Rev. Dr. Leamon E. Brown (Asst. Pastor 1978-1980, Interim Pastor (1980-1983, Pastor (1984-2021), Rev. Dr. David C. Camps (2024-).