Colonial Williamsburg to unveil reconstructed African Baptist Meeting House

WILLIAMSBURG – Descendants of the congregants of Williamsburg’s first Black church will come together on Friday to formally unveil and dedicate the newly constructed African Baptist Meeting House.

The site is situated alongside a sacred burial ground at the congregation’s original place of worship on Nassau Street in Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area.

The opening ceremony, commencing at 9 a.m., will take place as part of a four-day lineup of commemorative events celebrating the 250th anniversary of the historic First Baptist Church, which was organized in 1776 by a group of enslaved and free Black people.

Many of the church’s current members trace their ancestry to the early worshippers who met secretly for years even before the church was established.

Colonial Williamsburg broke ground on the replica of the Baptist Meeting House in 2025 with plans to open the building to the public this October.

Visitors will have the opportunity to reflect learn about the lives of the original congregants who built the structure and worshipped within it. Interpretation by Colonial Williamsburg staff will focus on research-based programming that illuminates their lives and contextualizes the nuanced history surrounding America’s founding generation.

The opening ceremony will close with a musical presentation, “Let Freedom Ring,” featuring guest musician Pierre Whitlow, lead vocalist Ronzell Pretlow and the Celebration Choir.

Several featured speakers will participate in the event, according to Gabriella Lancombe, a spokesperson for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Colonial Williamsburg CEO Carly Fiorina will be joined by African American Community Engagement Manager Janice Canaday, First Baptist Church pastor Reginald F. Davis, Let Freedom Ring Foundation President Connie Harshaw, Colonial Williamsburg Archaeology Director Jack Gary and Director of Preservation and Research Jennifer Wilkosky.

Virginia state senator Mamie E. Locke and the Honorable Judge John Charles Thomas are also expected to attend.

Guests will be welcomed into the Meeting House and sacred burial ground after the dedication. The current First Baptist Church will be open for tours at 727 Scotland Street, and refreshments will be served.

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation hailed the dedication as “a significant milestone” in the Foundation’s effort to preserve, interpret and share the stories of Williamsburg’s Black Community.

“Community engagement projects like the African Baptist Meeting House and Burial Ground represent the future of Colonial Williamsburg’s archaeology program,” said Jack Gary, vice president of Archaeology and Historic Landscapes. “We are fortunate to have such a dedicated group of people working with us as we literally uncover the stories of their ancestors and the community they created.”

The reconstruction project was spurred by a conversation between the foundation and congregants of the First Baptist Church.

Prior to the start of the project, a field of grass along Nassau Street contained only a small historic marker that inaccurately marked the original location of the church. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation paved a parking lot over the actual original location in the 1950s. 

The current First Baptist Church is located on nearby Scotland Street.

First Baptist Church, built in 1856 to replace the original structure which was destroyed by a tornado, at its original location on Nassau Street, Block 14 #7, Williamsburg, VA, 1930s.  Todd & Brown Photograph Collection, AV-2010.3, Box 1. (Todd & Brown Inc. courtesy of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation) 

The newly reconstructed Meeting House is six years in the making.

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation collaborated extensively with the First Baptist descendant community to uncover the church’s rich history and find the original foundation.

Within weeks of launching the effort, researchers discovered the foundation of the 16-by-32-foot building, as well as 62 unmarked gravesites. The replica of the Meeting House is based on preserved early 19th-century structures discovered during the excavation. 

According to Lancombe, the structure is framed with timber. Colonial Williamsburg’s historic trades team played an instrumental role in the construction. Carpenters created six, four-foot-long corner braces that serve as the primary support for the building, while brickmakers made the bricks for the foundation of the church.

The Meeting House and related programming will be available to the public free of charge. Through interpretation, visitors will explore the life of Gowan Pamphlet, an enslaved tavern worker who risked his safety to secretly preach to fellow African American believers. Pamphlet was the founder of First Baptist Church.

Davis believes the new building will have an impactful role in educating the public about Black history during the colonial era.

“The building is more than a roof and walls but a symbol of our shared history and ongoing commitment to tell the nation that Black history is American history,” Davis said. “It is a symbol that says, ‘Black lives and ancestry history matters!’”

For additional information about the African Baptist Meeting House project and the dedication ceremony, visit colonialwilliamsburg.org.