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African Baptist Meeting House Frame Raising
July 18 @ 9:00 am – 10:30 am
Be part of this historic milestone on Nassau Street beside the Bray School to raise the timber frame and celebrate together.
There will be a ceremony at 9:00 am lead by the descendant community, followed by the frame raising at approximately 10:00 am, which will continue throughout the day.
The African Baptist Meeting House and Burial Ground was the original permanent location of the First Baptist Church, one of the earliest African American congregations in the United States. A congregation of enslaved and free people of African descent worshipped, built a community, and buried family members at this Nassau Street site. Following Colonial Williamsburg’s purchase and removal of the church, the congregation relocated to Scotland Street, where its members have worshipped since 1956. In partnership with the First Baptist Church of Williamsburg and the Let Freedom Ring Foundation, Colonial Williamsburg has engaged in a multi-year project to excavate, study, and reconstruct this important historic site. Learn more about this project here.
