Downtown in Norfolk, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Freemason Street Baptist Church

Photographed by Sandra Hughes, August 10, 2010

1. Freemason Street Baptist Church Marker

Inscription. In May 1848 former members of the Cumberland Street Baptist Church organized to become the Freemason Street Baptist Church. A new church building was begun that year and completed and dedicated in May 1850. The Reverend Tiberius Gracchus Jones, a noted author and preacher, was the church's first pastor. Thomas Ustick Walter (1804-1887) of Philadelphia, of the most prominent architects of the mid-19th century, designed the Gothic Revival structure. In Norfolk, Walter also designed the Norfolk Academy building (1840) and consulted on the dome for the City Hall and Courthouse (1850). He later gained fame as the architect of the massive dome of the U.S. Capitol. With its original steeple, higher than the present one, Freemason Street Baptist Church was the tallest structure in Norfolk from 1850 to 1879. During a severe storm in August 1879 the steeple was blown off and landed in Freemason Street. It was replaced with the present steeple in 1897. The church building is included on the National Register of Historic Places.

Erected by City of Norfolk.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical month for this entry is May 1848.

Location. 36° 51.019′ N,

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76° 17.215′ W. Marker is in Norfolk, Virginia. It is in Downtown. It is at the intersection of East Freemason Street and Bank Street, on the left when traveling east on East Freemason Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 400 E Freemason St, Norfolk VA 23510, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Hampton Roads,

specifically in Coastal Virginia,

and in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Tidewater,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. 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: The Cannonball Trail (within shouting distance of this marker); Whitehead House, 1791 (within shouting distance

Photographed by Brandon D Cross, January 19, 2019

2. Freemason Street Baptist Church Marker

of this marker); Moses Myers House, 1792 (within shouting distance of this marker); St. Joseph’s Catholic Church & School (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Willoughby-Baylor House, 1794 (about 500 feet away); Bank Street Baptist Church (about 500 feet away); Francis Drake, Free Black Barber (about 600 feet away); Epworth United Methodist Church, 1894 (about 800 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Norfolk.

Also see . . . Freemason Street Baptist Church. (Submitted on October 13, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.)

Photographed by Sandra Hughes, August 10, 2010

3. Freemason Street Baptist Church Marker

Freemason Street Baptist Church image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Kevin Vincent, November 5, 2012

4. Freemason Street Baptist Church

Interior of the church image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Marsha A. Matson, June 5, 2015

5. Interior of the church

Photographed by Sandra Hughes, August 10, 2010

6. Freemason Street Baptist Church Marker

Freemason Street Baptist Church has been registered as a Virginia Historic Landmark pursuant to the authority vested in the Virginia Board of Historic Resources.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 27, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 13, 2011, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 1,657 times since then and 67 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on October 13, 2011, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. 2. submitted on February 5, 2019, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. 3. submitted on October 13, 2011, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. 4. submitted on May 8, 2013, by Kevin Vincent of Arlington, Virginia. 5. submitted on June 8, 2015, by Marsha A. Matson of Palmetto Bay, Florida. 6. submitted on October 13, 2011, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.