The Mount Carmel Baptist Church was organized in 1876. The congregation was made up of 275 former members of Second Baptist Church. Those members, led by the Holy Spirit, worshipped at several locations in the Northwest section of Washington, D.C., including the Old Columbia Law Building on Fifth Street. In 1914, under the leadership of Reverend Dr. William H. Jernigan, the Mount Carmel members marched from Fourth and I Streets, NW, to 901 Third Street, NW, where it has remained.