Dunnsville in Essex County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Angel Visit Baptist Church

Photographed by Bessida Cauthorne White, April 3, 2022

1. Angel Visit Baptist Church Marker

Inscription. Angel Visit Baptist Church, one of the oldest African American churches in Essex County, was formed in 1866 when African American members withdrew from white-led Ephesus Baptist Church after Emancipation. The congregation purchased land here in 1867 and erected a sanctuary, which they replaced with a larger building after acquiring an adjoining lot in 1893. Ozeana School, one of the county’s first public schools for African Americans, stood just south of the church for decades. The church burned in 1917, and the present 350-seat sanctuary opened in 1919. In the early 20th century, students and faculty from Rappahannock Industrial Academy, a nearby Baptist-run boarding school, worshiped here.

Erected 2021 by Virginia Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number O-77.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans • Education • Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical year for this entry is 1866.

Location. 37° 49.742′ N, 76° 48.107′ W. Marker is in Dunnsville, Virginia, in Essex County. It is at the intersection of Tidewater Trail (U.S. 17) and Muddy Gut Road (Virginia Route 607), on the right when traveling south on Tidewater Trail. Touch for map

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. Marker is at or near this postal address: 29566 Tidewater Trail, Dunnsville VA 22454, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Virginia’s Middle Peninsula.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Tidewater,

and in the Chesapeake Bay Region.

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 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Rappahannock Industrial Academy (approx. ¾ mile away); Old Folks Home (approx. ¾ mile away); Site of Rappahannock Industrial Academy (approx. ¾ mile away); Thomas Washington Lynched (approx. 1.6 miles away); Fort Lowry - Camp Byron (approx. 2.4 miles away); Mann Meeting House (approx. 3.8 miles away); Fort Lowry (approx. 4.6 miles away); Middlesex County / Essex County (approx. 6.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Dunnsville.

Photographed by Bessida Cauthorne White, April 16, 2022

2. Angel Visit Baptist Church Marker

Angel Visit Baptist Church image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bessida Cauthorne White, 2016

3. Angel Visit Baptist Church

4. Angel Visit Baptist Church

Angel Visit Baptist Church, pre-1917

Credits. This page was last revised on May 24, 2022. It was originally submitted on April 6, 2022, by Bessida Cauthorne White of Jamaica, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,354 times since then and 57 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on April 6, 2022, by Bessida Cauthorne White of Jamaica, Virginia. 2. submitted on April 17, 2022, by Bessida Cauthorne White of Jamaica, Virginia. 3, 4. submitted on May 23, 2022, by Bessida Cauthorne White of Jamaica, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.