Two Churches on One Lot
Located in the backyard of 206 Duquesne Avenue are a set of steps and a partial foundation that remains from a church that once served two different congregations in Trafford.
In 1907, the Methodist Episcopal Church built its first church on Duquesne Ave near the corner of 2nd Street. The frame steps shown in the photos were later replaced with the concrete steps seen here. Their congregation remained at this location until 1924 when it built a larger brick structure two blocks down Duquesne Ave at the corner of 4th Street.
In 1924, with an empty church building available in a growing town, the Reverend Cornelius Edward Askew took the opportunity to organize the Bethel Baptist Church in Trafford while still serving as pastor of the Good Hope Baptist Church in Pittsburgh. Rev. Askew received his education at Shaw University, graduated with a Bachelor of Theology degree in 1908, and later received his Doctor of Divinity degrees from both Shaw University and Benedict College. His time in Trafford was brief, as he left the area to become pastor of the Third Baptist Church of Detroit, Michigan. Other pastors know to have served this congregation included the Rev. Moses Johnson, Rev. Raymond Bibbs, and Rev. William Coker.
In 1947, the Bethel Baptist church moved out of the Duquesne Street church and joined members of the Mt. Pleasant Baptish church on Brinton Ave to form a new united congregation called the Mount Bethel Baptist Church. The frame structure on Duquesne Ave was still standing (but not in use) when Trafford celebrated its Golden Anniversary in 1954. It’s unknown when the structure was eventually razed.
