First Baptist Church of Perris
Item
Title
First Baptist Church of Perris
Description
Dora Nelson established the First Baptist Church of Perris, CA. Born in slavery in 1852, Dora Nelson moved to Perris, CA with her granddaughters in the early 1920’s. As her brother-in-law moved to Perris in 1905, it is assumed that Nelson’s family was one of the first Black families to settle in the area. As there was no Black church for the local community, Dora began hosting prayer meetings in her home, located on F and Sixth Streets. As the meetings began outgrowing her home, people gathered in her yard under her ChinaBerry tree. From this location, the First Baptist Church of Perris was established. As local ministers assisted with ministerial duties, credit wasn’t given to Dora for establishing the church. On November 26, 1926, First Baptist Church of Perris was officially incorporated.
Date
November 26, 1926
Creator
The Bridges That Carried Us Over Project
Format
Information Sheet
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Rights Holder
The Bridges That Carried Us Over