Historic Black Church Reconstructed in Williamsburg

The reconstruction of one of America's oldest Black churches, First Baptist Church of Williamsburg, was celebrated Friday with a community-wide rededication ceremony. The church, established in 1776 by enslaved and free African Americans, marks a significant moment in reclaiming and honoring Black history as American history.

Hundreds gathered for the event, which celebrated the restoration of the original church structure, known as the African Baptist Meeting House. The original parishioners built the meeting house in 1805 using recycled bricks and scavenged materials. The building was destroyed by a tornado in 1834 and rebuilt in 1856. A century later, it was replaced by a parking lot by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, which at the time deemed it inconsistent with the 18th-century aesthetic of the living history museum.

Archaeologists in 2021 uncovered the church's original foundation and 62 graves linked to the congregation. This discovery paved the way for the reconstruction of the 16-foot by 32-foot church at its original site.

"What this day means and shows is that Black history is American history, and we're an example for the rest of the nation," said Reginald F. Davis, pastor of First Baptist. "A church that has a history that was during the signing of the Declaration of Independence, you cannot erase us out of American history because we have been at the outset and formulation of the nation."

For decades, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation did not fully incorporate the church's history into its narrative, despite Black Americans constituting more than half of Williamsburg's population in the 18th century. In recent years, the museum has actively worked to revive the church's traditions, culminating in Friday's celebration.

"This is a reclamation, a reclaiming of the narrative," said Janice Canaday, community engagement manager at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. The rededication event included a procession symbolizing the congregation's historical fight for education, faith, and freedom, a performance by the Nassau Street Remembrance Choir, an invocation, and speeches from local officials and museum interpreters.

Among the speakers was James Ingram, who for 26 years portrayed Gowan Pamphlet, the pastor when the original church structure was built. Ingram described Pamphlet as a precursor to figures like Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr. The role of Pamphlet interpreter was passed to Brandon Lee at the dedication.

The discovery of the church's foundation and the 62 graves came after oral traditions of ancestors buried in the area prompted a search. "We knew the building was here, and we knew that there were maybe burials behind it," said Jennifer Wilkoski, director of architectural preservation and research at Colonial Williamsburg. DNA and bone analyses confirmed that three sets of remains were linked to the African Baptist Meeting House congregation.

The reconstructed meeting house honors its original character, built from pine and white oak woods with recreated details like half-round brick steps. Modern renovations include an HVAC system, a refreshed altar table, shutters, and handblown glass windows, referred to as "restoration glass." Finishing touches, including an ADA-accessible ramp, are expected in the coming months.

Pastor Davis described the meeting house structure as overdue recognition for "those of us who are still working to make America a more perfect union."