Civil War  |  Historic Site

First African Baptist Church

Virginia

E Broad St (at College St)
Richmond, VA 22903
United States

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This heritage site is a part of the American Battlefield Trust's Road to Freedom Tour Guide app, which showcases sites integral to the Black experience during the Civil War era. Download the FREE app now.

The old First African Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia; on the National Register of Historic Places. The church building is now a property of VCU Medical Center, Medical College of Virginia.
The old First African Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia; on the National Register of Historic Places. The church building is now a property of VCU Medical Center, Medical College of Virginia. Morgan Riley (CC BY 3.0)

The Charlottesville African Church congregation was organized in 1864. Four years later it bought the Delevan building, built in 1828 by Gen. John H. Cocke, and at one time used as a temperance hotel for University of Virginia students. It became part of the Charlottesville General Hospital and sheltered wounded soldiers during the Civil War. The church members laid the cornerstone for a new building in 1877 on the Delevan site, and the First Baptist Church, West Main Street, was completed in 1883. This building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Marker: Q-16, Virginia Department of Historic Resources (1998)

Various magazine covers stacked on top of one another, a baseball hat with an American Battlefield Trust logo and a man wearing a hoodie with an American Battlefield Trust logo design on it. Various magazine covers stacked on top of one another, a baseball hat with an American Battlefield Trust logo and a man wearing a hoodie with an American Battlefield Trust logo design on it.

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