Vacant for 20 Years, Bought by the State for $600,000, Demolished for $1.8 Million: Jackson Loses a Landmark Church

• The former First Christian Church in downtown Jackson, Mississippi, was designated a Mississippi Historical Landmark in 2003.
• Its cornerstone was laid on November 24, 1949; it had stood vacant for more than 20 years.
• The state bought the building for $600,000, and the Mississippi Department of Archives and History board voted in April 2024 to demolish it.
• A $1.8 million demolition contract went to Alliant Construction; work was delayed by asbestos.

A Gothic Revival church that once anchored a downtown corner in Mississippi’s capital is coming down after two decades of decline. WLBT reported that demolition was under way on the former First Christian Church in Jackson.

The church, at the corner of High Street and North State Street, was designed by N.W. Overstreet and Associates; its cornerstone was set on November 24, 1949. It was designated a Mississippi Historical Landmark in 2003, but by the time of demolition it had been vacant for more than 20 years. First Christian sold it to First Baptist Church in 2002, and it later passed through several owners, including First FCC LLC, Clerestory Studios LLC and Fifth Avenue Missionary Baptist Church. The state of Mississippi eventually acquired it for $600,000, and the board of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) voted to demolish it in April 2024.

A $1.8 million contract went to Alliant Construction. Work was delayed by the discovery of asbestos, and special equipment was needed to take down the multi-storey bell tower. MDAH executive director Katie Blount said: “They were interested in purchasing the building so that it would no longer sit there and decline.”

Lolly Rash, executive director of the Mississippi Heritage Trust, said: “It’s a failure on everyone’s part to not find a redevelopment opportunity for this facility.” Jean Coppenbarger, married there in 1972, said: “That’s the place that I learned to love the Lord and it was where we were all baptized.” Her daughter, Lee Ann Thigpen, said the building had been “almost not salvageable when First Christian closed 21 years ago.”

The Jackson story shows how an empty church can lose value year after year until demolition is the cheapest option. Jamaica has its own empty and decaying church buildings in town centres. A closed church needs a plan, whether sale, reuse or careful mothballing, before it deteriorates beyond saving. Investors interested in historic buildings should act early too: the longer a building sits empty, the higher the cost of bringing it back.

Follow Jamaica Homes on Youtube @jamaicahomes and Instagram @jamaica_homes and on Facebook @jamaicahomesnews Send us a message or email us at onlinefeedback@jamaica-homes.com or editor@jamaica-homes.com