The First Baptist Church was founded by William Rodgers of the Rodgers & Burchfield Steel Company. On Jan. 26, 1868 the first service was held in the borough’s school house. They met there for five years until moving to a church near the old canal in 1873. The land & building was donated by the Rodgers & Burchfield Steel Company. One of the walls of that building collapsed and a new building was erected in 1896 with a tower and Town Clock. After the flood of 1936, there was extensive damage, but the congregation revamped & rededicated the building in 1937. In 1974 the congregation bought the Shrine of Sts. Cosmos & Damien on Owens View and sold the building on Railroad Ave. to the Bible Presbyterian Church of Apollo.