“Uncovering America’s Oldest Black Baptist Church: The Excavation of First Baptist Church, Williamsburg, Virginia”

Join Colonial Williamsburg Director of Archaeology Jack Gary as he shares the exciting recent discoveries at First Baptist Church in Williamsburg. Founded in 1776 by free and enslaved Blacks, First Baptist Church is one of the oldest Black Baptist congregations in the country. The Church worshipped along Nassau Street in at least two different buildings for over 100 years before being dislocated in the mid-20th century by Colonial Williamsburg’s restoration efforts.

In 2020, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, in partnership with the modern congregation, descendants of those who worshipped in the Nassau Street church, and the broader African American community of Williamsburg, embarked on a research project to better understand the property on which the congregation built its first permanent structures. In October 2021, the team announced it had uncovered the original foundations of the brick church that stood on the site in the early 1800s. Archaeologists also identified more than 21 grave shafts there. Learn more about these important excavations and the inspiring story of one of the nation’s oldest Black congregations.

Wine and cheese reception follows talk. 

$25.00  Tickets at ChristChurch1735.org or in the Foundation office*

*Persons who purchased series tickets for the 2021 Sunday Speaker Series or individual tickets for the 10/17/2021 talk do not need to purchase a ticket.