First_Baptist_Church_(Richmond,_Virginia)

First Baptist Church (Richmond, Virginia)

First Baptist Church (Richmond, Virginia)

Historic church in Virginia, United States

First Baptist Church is a historic Baptist church in Richmond, Virginia, United States. Established in 1780, the church is located on the corner of Monument Avenue and Arthur Ashe Boulevard. As of 2024 the senior minister is the Rev. Dr. Jim Somerville, former pastor of the First Baptist Church of Washington, D.C. Its historic building at 12th and East Broad streets is the home of Virginia Commonwealth University's Hunton Student Center.

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History

The church moved from its original location in 1841 to E Broad St. at 12th St. Their new building was designed by architect Thomas U. Walter. It is a stuccoed temple-form Greek Revival style building with the two fluted Doric order columns of its portico in antis. During the American Civil War the church building served as an emergency hospital for Confederate Army soldiers. In 1938, the congregation sold the church to the Medical College of Virginia.[3] Also in 1841, a group of members formed the First African Baptist Church. The original First Baptist Church had a mixed congregation. In 1841 they separated. The First African Baptist Church occupied and purchased the original church building at E Broad St. and 14th St. (now College St.). This building was torn down in 1876 and replaced with the one that stands in that location today.

Basil Manly Jr. was the pastor from 1850 to 1854.[4]

Modern use

The Medical College of Virginia acquired the building in 1938, and it became the institution's first student center. In 1989, the building, then part of Virginia Commonwealth University, was named Hunton Hall for Eppa Hunton Jr. and Eppa Hunton IV. It was renovated from 2005 to 2007.[5]

References

  1. [1]
    "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. [2]
    "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  3. [3]
    Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission Staff (March 1969). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: First Baptist Church" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. and Accompanying photo
  4. [4]
    Wills, Gregory A. (February 2000), Manly, Basil, Jr. (1825-1892), Baptist minister, Oxford University Press
  5. [5]
    DiSalvo Lepley, Pamela (January 25, 2007). "Hunton Student Center grand reopening honors VCU's history". VCU News. Retrieved August 14, 2022.

Further reading

  • The first century of the First Baptist Church of Richmond, Virginia. 1780-1880, Richmond: McCarthy, 1880, OL 23299739M
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