Dillwyn in Buckingham County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Chief Cornerstone Baptist Church

Photographed by Jeremy Marc Dukes, December 5, 2023

1. Chief Cornerstone Baptist Church Marker

Inscription. African Americans had established Chief Cornerstone Baptist Church by 1876, during a period when many Black southerners worked to build independent community institutions in the wake of Emancipation. John and Harriet Gregory, who had formerly been enslaved, sold a half-acre of their property to the church's trustees. Members worshiped under a brush arbor, an open-sided shelter with a brush roof and a mound of earth serving as a lectern, before building a log sanctuary. The church's cemetery is the final resting place of many community members, including veterans of World War 1, World War II, and the Korean War.

Erected 2021 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number F 79.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical year for this entry is 1876.

Location. 37° 32.799′ N, 78° 26.709′ W. Marker is in Dillwyn, Virginia, in Buckingham County. It is on North James Madison Highway (U.S. 15) 0.1 miles south of Bell Road (Virginia Route 650), on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 17897 N James Madison Hwy, Dillwyn VA 23936, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Piedmont

and in Central Virginia.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

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 5 miles of this marker

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, measured as the crow flies: Buckingham Training School (approx. 1.2 miles away); Ellis Acres Park (approx. 1.2 miles away); Gold Mines (approx. 1.2 miles away); a different marker also named Buckingham Training School (approx. 1.6 miles away); Female Collegiate Institute (approx. 3.8 miles away); Robert Bolling (approx. 4 miles away); a different marker also named One-Room Schoolhouse (approx. 4.4 miles away); After Appomattox (approx. 4.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Dillwyn.

Other markers no longer nearby. Female Collegiate Institute (was approx. 3.8 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it); One-Room Schoolhouse (was approx. 4.4 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Photographed by Jeremy Marc Dukes, December 5, 2023

2. Chief Cornerstone Baptist Church Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on November 2, 2024. It was originally submitted on January 27, 2024, by Jeremy Marc Dukes of Farmville, Virginia. This page has been viewed 697 times since then and 38 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on January 27, 2024, by Jeremy Marc Dukes of Farmville, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.