3740 Joseph Campau Avenue
Holy Cross German Evangelical Lutheran Church, Mt. Vernon Missionary Baptist Church, Eddis Williams Community Center, Harper Avenue Church of God in Christ
I believe that the attached hall’s address is 3726 Joseph Campau.
A large chunk of Detroit’s eastside was long referred to as Bloody Run, named after the Battle of Bloody Run, where Chief Pontiac defeated the British at Parent’s Creek, which was said to have run red with the blood of Englishmen after around 20 men were killed and many more were injured. When Reverend Karl A. Otto came to Detroit, the area still held that name, but the creek would slowly be forced underground in the ensuing decades as Detroit was converted from a swamp to a metropolis.
Otto later said, “It was in November 1884 that I first came to the pulpit. In those days, this was a German community, isolated by slow transportation from the heart of the city.” It took over half an hour to get from the neighborhood to downtown, and Gratiot and Mt. Elliott ended the streetcar line.
Karl A. Otto helped organize the Holy Cross German Evangelical Lutheran Church, and the structure pictured here broke ground in 1884. According to the 1887 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, the church featured a 60-foot spire, a school next door, and a small dwelling behind the church for the pastor. Surprisingly, the neighborhood was pretty filled by this point, though there were still a few vacant lots.
In 1898, Reverend Karl A. Otto was said to have regularly taught at the parochial school in addition to his church duties. His pay was $35 per month. The piece noted that because the priests in Detroit made so little, it was “possible for the church to accomplish very much in missionary and educational fields.”
On September 4, 1908, Reverend Karl A. Otto’s son, Irwin, 17, drowned. In May 1910, Holy Cross celebrated its 25th anniversary, and Reverend Otto was still at the helm.
This church wasn’t often in the paper, though they regularly noted their anniversaries. In June 1920, the congregation celebrated 35 years.
In 1930, another Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church was planned at Grand River and Whitcomb. The current structure was built between 1950-1952.
On Sunday, August 23, 1931, Karl A. Otto celebrated his 72nd birthday and the 50th anniversary of his ordination. At the time, he was believed to be the oldest minister in active service in Detroit. In 1936, he retired but remained the Pastor Emeritus, giving sermons every other week. He died on May 30, 1941, at 81, from pneumonia. Born in Thuringia, Germany, Otto came to America at 21 and helped found the St. Thomas’ Lutheran Church in Cheboygan before heading west to work as a traveling pastor. In 1886, he came to Detroit, assuming the pulpit for a half-century and remaining as the Pastor emeritus for a half-decade. The Detroit Evening Times printed, “Detroit will truly miss this man who for so many years was a force for good in the community.”
By June 1942, Holy Cross German Evangelical Lutheran Church had left the structure pictured here, and Mt. Vernon Missionary Baptist Church had moved in. The Detroit Tribune reported, “The Rev. James Ray, acting pastor, announced this week that the church, which recently moved to its new location, is progressing nicely.” From day one, the church had an extensive Sunday School program and provided a Baptist Training Union or BTU.
The 1949 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map listed the church as “Mt. Vernor Baptist Church, Colored” but didn’t note any changes to the structure. At some point prior, the former school was converted into a hall. Later, the two structures would be connected by a long hallway.
A plaque on the church’s exterior says that Mt. Vernon Baptist Church was rebuilt in August 1954. I can’t be certain whether this means that the organization or the church building was rebuilt. However, on every Sanborn Map, the church and school were yellow, indicating they were wooden frame structures. As you can see, the structure has a cosmetic brick exterior today. The building appears to be the exact dimensions as previously, though it would have been pink (brick) if another Sanborn Fire Insurance Map had been created and the construction materials were changed. Considering the back is still wood, I think the brick is just cosmetic. When this work was completed, this may have been when the church and hall were connected.
In 1958, the Mt. Vernon Senior Usher Board youth sponsored a Mid-Summer Fashion Show. Dr. J. F. Green was the pastor.
By 1979, Mt. Vernon Missionary Baptist Church had changed its registered address from 3740 Joseph Campau, pictured here, to 3950 Helen Street, a home just off Grand Boulevard. The church still exists, meeting at 15125 Burt Road in Brightmoor.
In the late 1980s, the former school turned hall was called the Eddis Williams Community Center, and the group focused on providing programming for youth and senior citizens.
By 1995, the structure was used by Harper Avenue Church of God in Christ, though they may have been there prior. In addition to services, the church provided outreach to low-income households and distributed Christmas baskets. Harper Avenue COGIG still occupies the space today in one capacity or another, and there are often lots of cars here on Sunday mornings. I believe that the current pastor is John Beverly.
