First Swedish Baptist

Prior to the organization of this congregation in 1873, a group of Swedish immigrants held meetings in the Y.M.C.A., in a Baptist church (probably First Baptist), and in the home of a member, O.S. Lindberg, a carpenter. With the arrival of the Reverend John Ongman, the congregation was established on May 18, 1873. Meeting were held in the "American Baptist Church" (i.e. First Baptist), and later in a third-floor hall in a building at 7th and Wacouta Streets. The congregation erected a chapel at 7th and Kittson in 1875, and outgrowing this, erected a new frame church at Burr and Collins, which they dedicated on October 22, 1882. In 1893 the congregation sold this property and moved to a chapel they built at Walsh and Jenks Streets.  By 1899, the congregation had erected a permanent church at Payne Avenue and Simms Street, which they dedicated on June 25 of that year. Services were held in the Swedish language until 1925. It took a new name, Payne Avenue Baptist Church, in 1948. The congregation moved to the suburb of Maplewood in the 1960s and was renamed Trinity Baptist Church.