Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church In 1839, the First Baptist Church for whites was organized in Tuskegee with nine members. The church was built of logs and also served as a school. As the congregation grew, settlers decided to worship closer to where they lived. In 1850, a small band of Christians met on the Fourth Sunday in October and organized the First Baptist Church of Notasulga. Reverend D. Culberson served as the initial pastor. Some of the members of the congregation owned slaves who were recorded as being members of the First Baptist Church of Notasulga. In 1869, and just out of slavery, blacks wanted a building of their own in which to worship. A division between the white and black membership occurred in 1869. This division led to the establishment of the Second Baptist Church of Notasulga. The name was later changed to the Beulah Baptist Church. As Beulah grew, some of the members decided to leave Beulah and relocate to another place. In a bush arbor, Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church (SMBC) was organized in 1870. Since its organization, there have been 20 pastors. The current pastor, Reverend Christopher Dunlap, became SMBC’s 21st pastor in June 2006. This historic church is his first pastoral ministry. In 1932, following worship services, Ms. Eunice Rivers, a Public Health Services nurse, came to Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church and recruited men for a health-related research project. In exchange for their participation, they received free medical care. None were told they would be used as human subjects. They were told they were being treated for “bad blood”. Today, this research project is known as the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. Many of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study participants were members of the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church. The Church was also used as a site to recruit other men in the area.

March 24, 2010