One Of America’s First Black Churches Unearthed—And Its Story ‘Can Bring The Country Together’

Earlier this month, the brick foundation of one of America's oldest Black churches was discovered at Colonial Williamsburg, a living history museum in Virginia. The foundation of what once was the First Baptist Church was found and it was a church that was formed way back in 1776 by both free and enslaved Black people. Because laws prevented them from congregating at the time, members of the church were forced to meet secretly in fields and under trees.

According to NPR, the First Baptist Church had its first building in the former colonial capital in 1818. It was a 16 by 29 foot structure that was destroyed by a tornado in 1834. Another structure was erected in 1856, standing for 100 years before Colonial Williamsburg purchased the property in 1956 to convert to a parking lot due to expansion.

Pastor Reginald F. Davis of today's First Baptist Church recounted how the unearthing of the congregation's original home in Williamsburg is "a rediscovery of the humanity of a people." He added, "This helps to erase the historical and social amnesia that has afflicted this country for so many years."

CBN News reported that it took them a year of digging to find the foundation of the original First Baptist Church. Colonial Williamsburg's Director of Archaeology Jack Gary shared how they found "two foundations of two different buildings." He explained that one of the foundations is believed to be "the first permanent building that the congregation began to worship in in the early 1800s" while the other foundation was for the "second church," which had been destroyed by the tornado.

"We've also discovered 28 burials that we believe are members of the historic congregation," Gary remarked. First Baptist Church dates back to the very year the United States issued the Declaration of Independence. Years later, a while colonist by the name of Jesse Cole was so moved by the Black church's dedication to their faith that he offered them his Carriage House, which later became their church building.

Connie Matthews Harshaw of the Let Freedom Ring Foundation remarked how it was "hurtful" for Colonial Williamsburg to purchase the church and turn it into a parking lot. But she said, "Right now, we've moved from the hurt over to the healing. And it's a pretty powerful feeling now for those descendants that are still here, they actually get to see it all being uncovered."

Pastor Davis also spoke of healing, saying that "healing can happen, that togetherness can happen. All we have to do is come together and recognize each other's humanity and that we all serve the same God."

Harshaw remarked how diverse the community is now and how the discovery of the original First Baptist Church has "brought the community together" to "look at God," because "He is really, really is in the midst of all of this." She commented on how the timing of the discovery was meaningful as the nation faces issues with the conversation on race and faith.