Piedmont Heights Walking Tour

Mayson Chapel Baptist Church

1408 Mayson Street NE

Across the freeway from Monroe Drive in the Armour Junction industrial district on a little rise just off Plasters Avenue sits the unassuming Mayson Chapel Baptist Church. Boxed in by warehouses, office buildings, and the railroads, you might not guess it is a church except for the sign out front. It doesn’t even have a steeple, yet it houses an African-American congregation founded in 1909 by Rev. George Gladson to serve the “Armour Community.” The Rev. Leroy Durden, fifth pastor since its establishment, has led the ministry since 1987 and still holds regular weekly services. The building is on property which was once part of the Plaster Plantation, originally settled in 1822. In the 1930s, the chapel building doubled during the week serving as the only school for African-Americans in the Armour Community.