| First African Baptist Church | |
|---|---|
| First Colored Church (formerly) | |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:First_African_Baptist_Church,_Savannah_(Chatham_County,_Georgia).JPG) Front view | |
 | |
| Location | 23 Montgomery Street Franklin Square Savannah, Georgia |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Baptist |
| Website | www.theoldestblackchurch.org |
| History | |
| Founded | 1777 |
| Founder(s) | George Leile |
| Architecture | |
| Years built | 1859 |
| Administration | |
| Division | National Baptist Convention, U. S. A. Inc. |
| Subdivision | General Missionary Baptist Convention of Georgia, Inc. |
| Clergy | |
| Pastor(s) | Thurmond Neill Tillman |
First African Baptist Church | |
| Part of | Savannah Historic District (ID66000277) |
| Added to NRHP | November 13, 1966[1] |
First African Baptist Church, located in Savannah, Georgia, claims to be derived from the first black Baptist congregation in North America. While it was not officially organized until 1788, it grew from members who founded a congregation in 1773. Its claim of "first" is contested by the Silver Bluff Baptist Church, Aiken County, South Carolina (1773),[2][3] and the First Baptist Church of Petersburg, Virginia, whose congregation officially organized in 1774.[4]
First African Baptist Church operates a museum which displays memorabilia dating back to the 18th century.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ Raboteau, Albert J. (2004). Slave Religion: The "Invisible Institution" in the Antebellum South. Oxford University Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-19-517413-7. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
- ^ Brooks, Walter H. (April 1, 1922). "The Priority of the Silver Bluff Church and its Promoters". The Journal of Negro History. 7 (2): 172–196. doi:10.2307/2713524. ISSN 0022-2992. JSTOR 2713524. S2CID 149920027.
- ^ Raboteau, Albert J. (2004). Slave Religion: The 'Invisible Institution' in the Antebellum South. Oxford University Press. pp. 139, 141, 189. ISBN 9780195174137. Retrieved December 27, 2008.