Page "Demopolis, Alabama" Paragraph 17

With its eclectic mix of citizenry, Demopolis was slow to erect houses of worship.

In fact, a group of Methodist ministers convened nearby in 1843 pronounced Demopolis as " wholly irreligious.

" Mainline Protestant churches were slow to take root, in fact no churches at all were built in Demopolis until 1840.

Prior to that time various denominational groups met in a log assembly house on the town square until it was torn down in 1844.

A Baptist group had been established in the 1820s, but ended due to a lack of support.

The Episcopalians established a congregation in 1834, but did not build their Trinity Episcopal Church until 1850.

A Presbyterian congregation was established in 1839 and completed their first church, a brick structure now known as Rooster Hall, on the town square in 1843.

The Methodist congregation was established in 1840 and the first building was completed in 1843.

Present in Demopolis from the beginning, the Catholic congregation in town was listed as a mission of Saint John the Baptist in Tuscaloosa in 1851.

It was switched to Selma in 1880.

They met in a small frame church and private homes until the current Saint Leo the Great was built in 1905.

The Jewish congregation, B ' nai Jeshurun, was established in 1858, although the community had been present since the 1840s.

B ' nai Jeshurun was the fourth Jewish congregation established in Alabama.

They initially met in homes and businesses until eventually building a Moorish Revival-style temple in 1893.