Historic Freedmen's Town church burns

If you live anywhere close to downtown and happened to be outside looking around last night, chances are you saw the glow from Friendship Baptist Church — the old church in Freedmen's Town burned last night after members say lightning struck the building. The Rev. Floyd N. Williams II and a handful of other people were in the building for a Bible study around 7 p.m. when they heard what sounded like a lightning strike followed by a loud pop. The lights and telephone went out; Williams went outside and saw that some bricks on the outside of the building at 1313 Matthews St. had crumbled, so he dismissed the meeting and sent everyone home. When he checked a second time, Williams said he noticed the flames.

According to KHOU, the fire spread quickly; by the time firefighters arrived, it was so intense that they weren't able to go inside the building. At least 125 firefighters were on the scene, KTRK reports. The heat from the fire was reportedly so intense that it burned the miniblinds of a townhome nearby.

As for the building, it's a loss: By the time the fire was put out at 8:45 p.m., the walls and roof had collapsed; crews spent the rest of the night demolishing what was left. Friendship is one of the old churches still active in Freedmen's Town, one of Houston's most historic black neighborhoods; the congregation was founded in 1903 and the current building was built in 1946. "[The loss] can't even be measured," the Rev. Williams' wife, Tracy, told the Chronicle. "There's nothing but history in this church. We just finished celebrating 103 years in September. This is a historical landmark."