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Tinbridge Hill in Lynchburg, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Court Street Baptist Church Tragedy

 
 
Court Street Baptist Church Tragedy Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, May 26, 2014
1. Court Street Baptist Church Tragedy Marker
Inscription.
On October 16, 1876, a tragic “false alarm” panic at the old Court Street Baptist Church resulted in the deaths of eight people attending a wedding reception there. One of these young women, Maria Wilson, age 17, is buried nearby.

No tombstones can be found for the others:
Maria S. Ransom, Mary Henry, Emma Powell, Adeline Burks, Lucinda Cox, Virginia Robinson, and Mildred Walls.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial SitesDisastersReligion & Religious Structures. A significant historical month for this entry is October 1904.
 
Location. 37° 24.942′ N, 79° 9.407′ W. Marker is in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is in Tinbridge Hill. It can be reached from the intersection of Taylor Street and 4th Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 401 Taylor Street, Lynchburg VA 24501, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Central Virginia. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
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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: Professor Frank Trigg (here, next to this marker); Virginia Theological Seminary and College (here, next to this marker); Removal of Federal Dead (a few steps from this marker); The Confederate Memorial Arch (a few steps from this marker); Lucy Mina Otey and the Ladies' Relief Hospital (within shouting distance of this marker); Women In Lynchburg's Confederate Hospitals (within shouting distance of this marker); Confederate Smallpox Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); Crippled Corps and V.M.I. Cadets Form Inner Defenses in Old City Cemetery (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lynchburg.
 
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker.
 
Also see . . .  Old City Cemetery. The oldest public cemetery in Virginia still in use today - central
Court Street Baptist Church Tragedy Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, May 26, 2014
2. Court Street Baptist Church Tragedy Marker
Virginia's most unique public garden (Submitted on May 28, 2014.) 
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 28, 2014, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,114 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on May 28, 2014, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.
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Sep. 3, 2026