Greenville in Greenville County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Springfield Baptist Church

Photographed by Tom Bosse, May 14, 2022

1. Springfield Baptist Church Marker (Front)

Inscription.
(front)
This is the oldest black Baptist congregation in downtown Greenville. It was founded in 1867 by members of Greenville Baptist Church (now First Baptist Church), which had been a combined congregation of whites and blacks before the Civil War. Rev. Gabriel Poole, known as “Father Poole,” was its first pastor. The new church worshipped in First Baptist Church until it built its own church here in 1872. (Continued on other side) (back) (Continued from other side) The congregation purchased this site from the estate of Vardry McBee in 1871 and completed its first church, a frame building later covered in brick veneer, in 1872. That church was replaced by a brick Gothic Revival church in 1959. Springfield Baptist Church hosted many significant meetings during the Civil Rights Movement. The 1959 church burned in 1972 and was replaced by the present church in 1976.

Erected 2013 by Sponsored by the Congregation. (Marker Number 23-58.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical year for this entry is 1867.

Location. 34° 50.839′ N,

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82° 23.516′ W. Marker is in Greenville, South Carolina, in Greenville County. It is at the intersection of East McBee Avenue and McDaniel Avenue, on the right when traveling east on East McBee Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 600 East McBee Avenue, Greenville SC 29601, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Upstate.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation,

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: Brockman Park (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); African Elephant (approx. ¼ mile away); In 1825 (approx. ¼ mile away); Greenville Gas and Electric Light Company (approx.

Springfield Baptist Church Marker (Back) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tom Bosse, May 14, 2022

2. Springfield Baptist Church Marker (Back)

¼ mile away); Capers Bouton Memoral Fountain (approx. ¼ mile away); Here Lieth the Body of Sarah M. Crittenden (approx. ¼ mile away); Cleveland Park (approx. ¼ mile away); Greenville County Vietnam Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Greenville.

Also see . . . Springfield Baptist Church’s roots reach back to 1800s. Grenville news website entry (2015) (Submitted on October 10, 2023, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)

Springfield Baptist Church Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tom Bosse, May 14, 2022

3. Springfield Baptist Church Marker

Photographed by Tom Bosse, May 14, 2022

4. Springfield Baptist Church Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on October 10, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 21, 2022, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 982 times since then and 69 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on May 21, 2022, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.