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SPECIAL FEATURE Herman K. Griffin's Black History Month PowerPoint presentation for 2008
NEWS
Sunday worship services: Other events and photos:
MINISTRIES
OTHER GROUPS
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
African fabric from the collection of Pamela Bridgewater
Click here to hear excerpts from a traditional spiritual sung as a choir processional during the 11:00 a.m. service on September 3, 2006: "Children of God, keep on marchin', for one of these days, we shall be free..." (MP3 format) Featured voices are the Senior Choir and Men's Choir of Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site), with the Rev. Ronald Cooper singing the lead
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SEEKING
deeper encounters with God’s Love...
Historical Time Line About 1803 The first Baptist meeting house is established in Fredericksburg, near what is now the railroad station. Its membership is said to include “many slaves and free Negroes.” 1818 The Baptist congregation, now using the name “Shiloh Baptist,” decides to buy the land that we currently occupy. Plans are laid for a larger brick building than before. Late 1840s Shiloh Baptist is thriving: reports say that it has more than 800 members, at least 75 percent of whom are slaves or free African Americans. Early 1850s Plans are laid for an even larger building at the corner of what is now Princess Anne and Amelia streets; African Americans pledge $1,100 toward construction. 1854 African American members of Shiloh functionally become a separate congregation, meeting Sunday afternoons rather than Sunday mornings. It becomes clear that the new building that is being constructed will be for those members who are white. (For an alphabetical list of approximately 625 slaves and free blacks who were members of Shiloh in the 1854-1856 time period, click here.) 1855 White members move into their new building, appointing their elder George Rowe (who himself owned seven slaves) to oversee things at the old building, now informally referred to as “the African Baptist Church.” Deacon Armstead Walker, who later became one of the first African Americans ordained in Virginia, does much of the preaching. 1856 Whites at the new location, who change their name to “Fredericksburg Baptist,” formally “dismiss” all African Americans from what had originally been a diverse congregation. 1857 To obtain a deed to our long-time property, we pay another $500 to toward construction of the new building in which the whites who formerly worshiped with us are now meeting. We also begin re-using our original name, now abandoned by the whites: "Shiloh Baptist." December 1862 The Civil War comes to Fredericksburg with a vengeance. Union troops storm across the river to vigorous Confederate resistance. Our building is damaged. January 1, 1863 The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect. Elder George Rowe, the “overseer” appointed by the white congregation, ends his service. 1863 to 1865 The Civil War continues. Many members of Shiloh flee north to Washington, including our first African American pastor, Rev. George Dixon. During this time, members of our church help organize a still-strong daughter church, Shiloh Baptist of Washington. Those who remain in Fredericksburg meet sporadically in homes and sometimes in an old warehouse that was located at Charles Street and what was then called Fifteenth Street. 1865 When the fighting stops, Rev. George Dixon (who had been a member of the congregation since at least 1854) returns from Washington to repair our badly damaged building—and to revitalize the congregation’s worship and ministry. Late 1860s Shiloh is once again thriving, a center of life for the African American community. 1878 Rev. Lemuel Walden, educated at Shaw University, succeeds Rev. Dixon as pastor. 1881 Rev. Willis Robinson succeeds Rev. Walden as pastor. 1886 The rear wall of our building collapses, probably weakened by floods. We begin meeting at the Fredericksburg Courthouse. Great controversy follows. Some want to rebuild on higher ground. Others want to stay by the river. All want the name Shiloh Baptist. A judge intervenes. Those who move, including Rev. Robinson, become Shiloh Baptist (New Site), while we become Shiloh Baptist (Old Site). Rev. James E. Brown succeeds Rev. Robinson as our pastor. 1890 The heart of our current building is erected on our traditional site down by the riverside. 1905 Rev. John A. Brown succeeds Rev. James E. Brown as pastor. 1910 Rev. John C. Diamond succeeds Rev. John A. Brown as pastor. 1922 Rev. B.H. Hester, father of current member Mrs. Mary Bridgewater, becomes our pastor. 1925 A pipe organ built by the J.P. Moller Company of Hagerstown, Maryland, is installed in the sanctuary. 1962 Rev. Lawrence A. Davies succeeds Rev. Hester as pastor. Rev. Davies becomes active in both the church and community, serving four years on Fredericksburg's city council and twenty years as mayor of Fredericksburg. 1977 A new "educational annex," adjoining the 1890 building, is dedicated, providing considerable additional space for classrooms and offices. Later, an elevator is added. 2002 The ceiling of the 1890 sanctuary begins to buckle and sink, requiring installation of huge, temporary support beams to keep the ceiling from collapsing. 2003 The entire top of the 1890 building is removed, including both the ceiling and roof. A new roof is built, using a structure that allows for a higher ceiling in the sanctuary, providing a more open feeling, especially in the balcony. 2004 Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site) celebrates its 200th anniversary with a wide variety of special activities throughout the year, including the rebuilding and refurbishing of the 1925 pipe organ. Last update for this page: 10/25/2007
To return to the main History page, where you will have access to more information on Shiloh Old Site's history, click here
Sources for above information: A research report on Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site) by Laura Farwell, produced by Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc., dated March 2000. A history of Fredericksburg Baptist Church, posted on its web site (recorded December 1, 2003). Photocopies of old minutes from the original Shiloh Baptist Church (later known as Fredericksburg Baptist Church). These photocopies are available in the archives of Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site).
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Copyright 2008 by Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site), 801 Sophia Street, Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401 Office phone 540.373.8701 Web planning and oversight by Shiloh Old Site's Web Committee; funding by the church's Faith & Hope Club Web design by A Distant Wind Company; web hosting courtesy of the Central Rappahannock Regional Library
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