The following is a brief history of the Vineland Park Baptist Church for the
Hueytown Historical Society website:

                            Vineland Park Baptist Church
                                    by Johnny Curry

    The Vineland Park Baptist Church of Hueytown was first organized on May
10, 1925, with thirty-eight charter members including Miss Alice Huey who was
serving as a Missionary in China at the time.  The congregation held their
first meetings in a tent and Sunday school classes meet in the homes of the
members.  Like many area baptist churches the church was formed from a group
of former members of the much larger Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church with whom
they had developed "philosophical differences".

    Construction of the original church sancutary which is located on the
southeast corner of Sunrise Blvd. and 20th Street was begun on June 5, 1925. 
The building was occupied in October of that same year.  The building was
heated throughout with pot-belly stoves and air conditioned by mother nature.
 Unlike most traditional baptist churches, Vineland Park did not have a
steeple, but rather a tower on the front that was reminescient of a castle
turret.

    When the church was first organized it was named as The First Baptist
Church of Hueytown at the suggestion of Mr. B. B. Waldrop.  It continued to
use that name until February 16, 1949, when the congregation changed to its
present name.  The church had long been called Vineland Park and one possible
reason for the name change was the obvious situation that there already was a
much older baptist church on Warrior River Road (present day Allison Bonnett
Drive) named as The First Baptist Church of Hueytown.

    Since 1925 thirteen men have served as pastors for the flock.   The first
was E. S. Pate (1925-1928) who was paid a weekly salary of $37.50. The other
pastors are listed as follows:

    Bro. Billand               (1928-1931)
    A. J. Darling             (1931-1938)
    R. F. Halford             (1938-1941)
    L. L. Riddle                 (1942-1944)
    Lodus Phillips            (1944-1948)
    J. O. Black              (1949-1957)
    Frank H. Taylor          (1957-1963)
    Oswald A. Forehand   (1964-1974)
    E. P. Wallen               (1974-1999)
    Danny Blair            (1999-2000)

    Today the church has co-pastors, Jim Gunn and Matt Hampton.
   
    The church underwent a major santuary renovation in 1971 which changed
the exterior appearance to its present traditional design.  Vineland Park is
a long-time member of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Bessemer
Baptist Association.  Today the church is a self-described "Calvinistic
Baptist" church which means they focus on teaching the scriptures.