Description
Encyclopedia article about Springfield Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia. Springfield Baptist Church traces its roots to the year 1773, bolstering its claim to be the oldest African American congregation in the United States. Served by African American pastors during the antebellum years, Springfield had the largest membership of any church in the Georgia Baptist Association. Some of its members emigrated to Liberia, and the church maintained a missionary connection with that country. Springfield offered Sunday school instruction in 1859, even though such classes were banned by the prevailing slave codes. In 1866 the church hosted the first meeting of the postwar Georgia Equal Rights Association, which became the Georgia Republican Party a year later. The Augusta Baptist Institute was founded at the church; twelve years later it moved to Atlanta and grew into Morehouse College.
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