First Baptist Church (Williamsburg, Virginia)
Historic church in Virginia, United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The First Baptist Church is a historic church at 727 Scotland Road in Williamsburg, Virginia. It is a brick Colonial Revival structure, built in 1956 to a design by Norfolk architect Bernard Spigel. It is of only two known church designs by Spigel.
First Baptist Church | |
 | |
   | |
| Location | 727 Scotland St. |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°16′27″N 76°42′40″W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1956 |
| Architect | Bernard Spigel |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 100001050[1] |
| Added to NRHP | June 5, 2017 |
The congregation was founded in the 1770s as a non-denominational group of free and enslaved African-Americans, and became officially Baptist in 1781.[2] At the time of its founding, African-Americans could not own property; the land had been donated to them by a wealthy white man with the understanding that it would be used as a place of worship.[3] John M. Dawson was a pastor for over forty-five years and was also a Virginia state senator between 1874 and 1877 during the Reconstruction Era.[4]
Located for many years in a church on Nassau Street, it was relocated by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation to its present location at the foundation's expense.[2]
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.[1]
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