You may wonder – what is the Heritage Center, where is it located, and why do we have one? The Heritage Center is in the space that once belonged to the FBCTLH library on the first floor of the Adams Street wing. The library was closed a couple of years ago due to low usage, and a space was created to house the historical documents, pictures, and artifacts of the church.
In 2014, while looking for baptismal records which were not in the church’s database, Dr. Linda Teague found a room on the third floor of the Adams wing where all the church written membership records, church bulletins, deacons and church business minutes, cassette tapes, videos, and movies had been dumped on the floor and on sagging metal shelves. Thus began a 10-year journey of preserving all church bulletins dating from the 1930s-2024 by putting them in chronological order in protector sheets and organizing church business meeting minutes and deacons’ minutes in the same manner. Florida State University Archives Center has digitized these documents at no charge (and they can be found online). She was joined by Jo Bevis Davis (a life member of FBCTLH), Mrs. Janet Pearce, Mrs. Pat Pottle, Jane and Dr. Neal Meadows, and later by Jo Anne Binford, and Larry White.
In preparation for the 175-year anniversary of the church, the committee, with the expertise of Dr. Neal Meadows, has designed a mural-style timeline. It traces significant events in the life of our church from the very beginning in 1849 through 2024. A mockup of the timeline can be seen on the wall inside the Heritage Center. The finished product will be available this fall. The committee has also designed a historical marker which will be installed on our property during the fall celebration.
Hundreds of photographs have been combed through and, if identifiable, preserved by category to be used in future displays. Pictures of former pastors line the hallway leading to the Heritage Center. When completed, the Heritage Center will house memorabilia, documents, artifacts, various recorded sermons, movies, videos, and other items of historical significance.
Presently, the Heritage Center is a “work in progress” and in need of volunteers to help organize artifacts and documents to help preserve and to openly display our FBCTLH heritage. Please call one of the names mentioned above for more information or come by the Heritage Center on Wednesday afternoons from 3:30-6 PM.
FSU has digitized our historical records:
Historical Records