A.D. Lewis

Albert Dennis Lewis was born in Louisa County, Va. He worked in construction and on the railroad. He helped build a tunnel in Baltimore and then worked for the C&O Railroad for six years. Lewis also worked in Kentucky doing grading for the L&N Railroad. He drove the first express wagon in Huntington for Adams Express. Before coming to Huntington, he was pastor of the Hinton Second Baptist Church.

After moving to Huntington, Lewis became a member of First Baptist Church and led a group of its members to form a new church to better meet the needs of the community. He became the third pastor of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and the first director of the community center at the church. The center provided a safe place for the youth of the community where they could play ping pong, pool and other activities to keep them off the street. He served as pastor from 1915 until he retired in 1927.  He guided the congregation through the construction of a new church at 1657 9th Avenue.

The A.D. Lewis Community Center is named in his honor.