115-year-old Harlem Baptist Church, last survivor of Missouri River town, will be torn down

Trustees of the building on the northern banks of the Missouri River called it a "painful decision" to close because they don't have the $500,000 needed to restore it after a devastating fire.
The historic Harlem Baptist Church, the last relic of a once-thriving river town, is set to be torn down.

Jason Withington, one of the church’s trustees, said they made the decision this week to raze the 115-year-old building. A September 2021 fire gutted the church and the cost of restoring it could reach $500,000, he said.

Withington, who was baptized at the church, said the building’s fate made him sad because the church is the last relic of the old town that sits on the northern bank of the Missouri River. He called it a “painful decision.”