Olive Branch Missionary Baptist Church

Olive Branch Missionary Baptist Church is a wooden Protestant church building in Moneta, Bedford County. The structure displays a T-shaped plan with weatherboard siding, pointed Gothic windows, and a steeple topped with a tin decorative finial.

The property was established in 1881 when four African American trustees from the Pullen and Broad families acquired the land from the Mead family. This founding marks an important moment in the development of independent Black religious institutions in the region.

The congregation represents the African American Baptist Missionary movement that has shaped spiritual life in Virginia since the early 1800s. This focus on community education and outreach remains central to how the church serves its members today.

The church grounds are accessible for visitors to explore the exterior of the building and the surrounding cemetery. The burial area contains marked graves and scattered fieldstones that provide a sense of the site's long use by the community.

Reverend Noel C. Taylor, who would later become the first African American mayor of Roanoke, delivered his initial trial sermon here in 1955. This connection reflects the church's role as a place where community leaders first tested their abilities before larger callings.

Location: Virginia

GPS coordinates: 37.24830,-79.62610

Latest update: December 14, 2025 18:45