The First Baptist Church of Williamsburg is as old as America, founded by free and enslaved Blacks in 1776. Colonial Williamsburg announced that archaeologists have found what they believe to be the brick foundation of the church's first permanent home.
in Williamsburg, Virginia, is as old as America, having been founded by free and enslaved Blacks in 1776.
Gary said they consulted with the church about the project last year and began digging in September 2020 to try to find the original structure, which was used at least as far back as 1818 and was destroyed by a tornado in 1834. They also found artifacts, such as an 1817 coin that helped determine that this was the original church building.
"They are just overwhelmed with relief, joy," she said."I think that it has served as a healing aspect for this community because they now know that the history that's there is being uncovered."Like Washington and Jefferson, he championed liberty. Unlike the founders, he freed his slaves "Really any of the sites that we excavate, we have to start to think about what was the experience like for Black people at this site," Gary said.
Harshaw said it was exciting and emotional for the church community to be able to find this part of their history that had been lost for so long."The fact that you can actually present this factual data to the descendants that are still here, and have been waiting for so long, and who thought that it would never happen. It's pretty emotional, pretty overwhelming," she said.
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