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Greensboro, GA, August 12, 2010-- The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) along with the Springfield Baptist Church, will unveil a new historical marker to recognize the Historic Springfield Baptist Church. The dedication will be held at the church at 314 Canaan Circle in Greensboro, Georgia on August 15, 2010, at 11:00 a.m.
First organized by enslaved African American in 1864, Springfield Baptist Church has served the Greensboro area without interruption. At the time most blacks worshiped in racially mixed churches, though blacks were relegated to the balconies. During reconstruction many white churches expelled black worshipers and in 1867 the First Baptist Church presented its former members with $200 and the suggestion to start their own church. Indicative of cultural patterns during the reconstruction era, the history of the Springfield Baptist church illustrates birth and proliferation of African American Churches in the south. The marker text reads as follows:
Historic Springfield Baptist Church
Springfield Baptist Church was established on January 27, 1864 prior to the abolition of slavery, and is among the first African-American churches founded in Middle Georgia. Enslaved workers purchased land from Mrs. Nancy Bickers and began monthly meetings. Levi Thornton, a slave, served as the church’s first pastor. Prior to the Civil War most local congregations were racially integrated, though blacks and whites sat separately. However in 1867 African Americans were dismissed from local congregations. At their dismissal, the white congregations presented Springfield with $200 to help build the current building. In 1978, this property was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Erected by the Georgia Historical Society and the Springfield Baptist Church
SAVANNAH: 501 Whitaker St., Savannah, GA 31401
ATLANTA: 260 14th St., NW, Ste. A-148, Atlanta, GA 30318
1787 Georgia’s House of Assembly named William Few, Abraham Baldwin, William Pierce, George Walton, William Houston, and Nathaniel Pendleton as Georgia’s commissioners to the Philadelphia constitutional convention. read more
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