Old Town West in Alexandria, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Third Baptist Church

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), October 5, 2019

1. Third Baptist Church Marker

Inscription. Alexandria, occupied by Union troops in 1861, attracted many African Americans escaping slavery. In Jan. 1864, a group of formerly enslaved people organized Third Freedmen's Baptist Church (later Third Baptist Church). The congregation moved to this site in 1865 and built its Romanesque Revival sanctuary in the 1890s. The church's first minister was the Rev. George Washington Parker (ca. 1832-1873), who had been free before the Civil War. He worked with the Rev. Clement Robinson to start the First Select Colored School in 1862, was a local Republican Party leader during Reconstruction and was the first African American member of the Alexandria Common Council.

Erected 2018 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number E-147.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Architecture • Education • Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical month for this entry is January 1864.

Location. 38° 48.537′ N, 77° 2.956′ W. Marker is in Alexandria, Virginia. It is in Old Town West. It is on Princess Street just east of North Patrick Street (U.S. 1), on the left when traveling

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

east. The marker stands in the Old Town West neighborhood of Alexandria. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 917 Princess Street, Alexandria VA 22314, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area

and in Northern Virginia.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

and in the Mid-Atlantic.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Meade Memorial Episcopal Church Bell Tower (within shouting distance of this marker); Alexandria Quaker Burial Ground (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Alexandria Library Sit-In (about 800 feet away); Elisha Cullen Dick, M.D. (approx. 0.2 miles away); Lodge No. 38, Independent Order of Odd Fellows (approx. 0.2 miles away); Colross-Alexandria's Urban Phoenix (approx. 0.2 miles away); Grosvenor Hospital (approx. 0.2 miles away); Original Site of Immanuel Lutheran Church (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Alexandria.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Alexandria Library Sit-In (was about 800 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Third Baptist Church image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), October 5, 2019

2. Third Baptist Church

Credits. This page was last revised on January 27, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 5, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 899 times since then and 40 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 5, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.