Springfield Baptist Church, Baptist church in Augusta, United States
Springfield Baptist Church is a rectangular wooden structure with two entrances on the main level, featuring arched windows and a small window set into the peaked roof. Next to it, Springfield Village Park displays historical markers, a fountain, and sculptural works that complement the building's presence in the landscape.
The congregation was founded in 1787 by Reverend Jesse Peters and claims continuous ties to Silver Bluff Baptist Church, founded in 1774–1775 in South Carolina. In 1844 the Methodists gave the congregation this meeting house, which was moved on logs to 12th and Reynolds streets. By the antebellum years it counted 1,000 members, the largest congregation in the Georgia Baptist Association, and in 1866 it hosted the Georgia State Freedmen's Conventions.
The congregation was founded in 1787 by Reverend Jesse Peters and claims continuous ties to Silver Bluff Baptist Church in South Carolina, founded in 1774–1775. In the antebellum years it counted 1,000 members, the largest congregation in the Georgia Baptist Association, and in 1866 it hosted the Georgia State Freedmen's Conventions.
The church and surrounding park are easily accessible for a walk-through visit at your own pace. Plan enough time to explore both the building itself and the informational displays scattered through the park grounds.
The congregation dates to 1787, when Reverend Jesse Peters founded it, and claims continuous ties to Silver Bluff Baptist Church in South Carolina, organized in 1774–1775. Historian Walter Brooks argued this makes it the oldest Black Baptist congregation in the nation, though First Baptist Church in Petersburg, Virginia, organized in 1774, also claims that distinction.
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