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First Baptist Church, founded by Roger Williams in 1638, was the earliest Baptist Church in America. Erected in 1775, its present building is at 75 N Main St. Its twelfth pastor, James Manning, was founder and president of nearby Brown University. copyrighted and used by permission from David Beale, Baptist History in England and America: Personalities, Positions, and Practices Featured Image Credit: Read more...
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Underneath the Roger Williams Statue, at Prospect Terrace, lie Williams’s ashes. With John Clarke, he was the co-founder of Rhode Island. (See Chapter 12). copyrighted and used by permission from David Beale, Baptist History in England and America: Personalities, Positions, and Practices Watch our interview on Roger Williams: Featured Image Credit: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons Read more...
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United Baptist Church, John Clarke Memorial, at 30 Spring Street, was founded in 1644 by John Clarke. It was America’s second Baptist church. Clarke was co-founder of Rhode Island and an early defender of liberty of conscience. copyrighted and used by permission from David Beale, Baptist History in England and America: Personalities, Positions, and Practices Featured Image Credit: “Home – United Read more...
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Newport Historical Society (NHS) houses the first Seventh-Day Baptist church in America. In 1671, Stephen Mumford led a small group of First Baptist to establish this church. In 1884, the NHS bought the Seventh-Day Baptists’ 1730 wooden chapel. In 1915, the NHS moved the elegant chapel from Barney Street to the rear of their headquarters, at 82 Touro Street. Here, Read more...
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Ye Olde Yellow Meeting House, located on Yellow Meetinghouse Road, off Route 526, dates to about 1737. Its earliest records, beginning in 1766, are in a 165-page handwritten “Church Book: Giving an Account of ye First Settlement & Progress of the Baptists at Crosswicks, or Upper Freehold.” In 1766, its forty-seven members organized into Crosswicks Baptist Church. In 1773, its Read more...
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Marked by a tall obelisk at 1500 Washington Avenue, is the grave of George Washington’s mother. Near the obelisk, an inscription on Meditation Rock says of her, “Here Mary Ball Washington prayed for the safety of her son and country during the dark days of the Revolution.” Mary’s home is at 1200 Charles Street. copyrighted and used by permission from David Read more...
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In 1774, Baptists in Tappahannock established the earliest Baptist church in Essex County-Piscataway (now Mt. Zion) Baptist, on Dunbrooke Road. On that same day, inside the local Essex County Courthouse, which is now the oldest courthouse building in Virginia, officials sentenced fines and imprisonments to the three men who preached the church’s opening service – John Waller, John Shackleford, and Read more...
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The Chesterfield County Museum, at 6813 Mimms Loop, is a replica of the 1749 courthouse where magistrates, during 1770-74, sentenced seven Baptist preachers to jail for preaching Christ without state-church approval. See the section, “Virginia Baptist Preachers Imprisoned in Chesterfield Jail 1770-74,” in Chapter 15. copyrighted and used by permission from David Beale, Baptist History in England and America: Personalities, Positions, Read more...
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The grave of Virginia Governor Patrick Henry, a friend of persecuted Baptists, is at Patrick Henry National Memorial, 1497 Red Hill Road, Brookneal, VA 24528. This beautiful plantation is called Red Hill. copyrighted and used by permission from David Beale, Baptist History in England and America: Personalities, Positions, and Practices Patrick Henry (1736-1799) loved freedom – risking his life and Read more...
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Founded by Shubal Stearns, in 1755, Sandy Creek Baptist Church is located at 4765 Sandy Creek Church Road, Liberty. Stearns’s obelisk tombstone stands in the church cemetery. Historical monuments on the grounds provide fascinating glimpses into the Sandy Creek heritage. The year 2005 marked the 250th anniversary of Stearns’s organization of the church. In 2015, Sandy Creek Baptist erected a new, Read more...
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Siloam Baptist Church, 2409 Siloam Church Road, was founded by John Waller. The historical marker at the church offers valuable information. copyrighted and used by permission from David Beale, Baptist History in England and America: Personalities, Positions, and Practices Featured Image Credit: Photo: Siloam Baptist Church Marker. www.hmdb.org/PhotoFullSize.asp?PhotoID=95768. Read more...
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“I determined never to rest until it pleased God to show mercy or cut me off … I hasted into a neighbouring wood, and dropped on my knees before God, to beg for mercy. In an instant, I felt my heart melt and a sweet application of the Redeemer’s love to my poor soul.” John Waller was somewhat of Read more...
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Luther Rice preached his final sermon at Pine Pleasant Baptist Church (est. 1831). His remains were laid to rest here in the churchyard, at 457 Pine Pleasant Road. Under a distinctive canopy, his tomb has a marble slab with a biographical inscription. copyrighted and used by permission from David Beale, Baptist History in England and America: Personalities, Positions, and Practices From Wikipedia: Read more...
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COLUMBIA FALLS – Even against a backdrop of scenery that draws millions of visitors from around the world, God’s Ten Commandments Park is hard to miss. “I tell people when they drive through the Ten Commandments Park they see the glory of God, and when they go into Glacier Park they see the majesty of God and his creation,” founder Read more...
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In 1801, the Church of the Pilgrimage broke off from the First Parish Church in Plymouth in the Unitarian Controversy. The Congregationalists formed this church, which later became part of the United Church of Christ. On the front of the church is this plaque: This tablet is inscribed in grateful memory of the Pilgrims and of their successors who Read more...
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Watch Dr. David Saxon retell the story of Obadiah Holmes on Our Christian Heritage on VCY.tv Obadiah Holmes was born in England and came to Massachusetts Bay after adopting credobaptism (baptism by belief) as opposed to the Puritan pedobaptism (baptism of infants), he was evicted from Rehoboth, MA and joined John Clarke at his Baptist Church in Newport, Rhode Island. Read more...
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Hopewell Academy (est. 1756), a Latin grammar school, founded by Isaac Eaton, pastor at Hopewell Baptist, was the earliest Baptist academy in America. The building is now a private home, but a historical plaque stands near the street. The academy’s alumni included James Manning, founder of Brown University. Other alumni included the “Baptist Whitefield,” Hezekiah Smith, who was a classmate with Read more...
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Hopewell Baptist Church is on West Broad Street (Hopewell, New Jersey). One of its most notable pastors was Oliver Hart (1723-95). Gravestones in the church cemetery include those of Isaac Eaton and John Hart, signer of the Declaration of Independence. Hart was not a member here, but he donated the land on which the building stands. Revolutionary War veterans lie Read more...
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John Gano (1727-1804) was the first full-time pastor of First Baptist in the City of New York (est. 1762). During the War of Independence, Gano served as chaplain to George Washington. In 1891, during the ministry of I.M. Haldeman (1845-1933), the church erected its present building at 265 West 79th Street at Broadway. (See Chapter 16). copyrighted and used by permission Read more...
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The Welsh Tract Baptist Church, on Welsh Tract Road, originated in 1701, when sixteen people formed the original congregation in Wales. In 1703, they settled on a thousand acre tract of land, granted by William Penn and since known as the Welsh Tract. As the first Baptist church in Delaware and situated a couple of miles south of Newark, they Read more...