Starr Hill in Charlottesville, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

First Baptist Church

West Main Street

Photographed by J. J. Prats, June 15, 2008

1. First Baptist Church, West Main Street Marker

Inscription. The Charlottesville African Church congregation was organized in 1864. Four years later it bought the Delevan building, built in 1828 by Gen. John H. Cocke, and at one time used as a temperance hotel for University of Virginia students. It became part of the Charlottesville General Hospital and sheltered wounded soldiers during the Civil War. The church members laid the cornerstone for a new building in 1877 on the Delevan site, and the First Baptist Church, West Main Street, was completed in 1883. This building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Erected 1998 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number Q-16.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1864.

Location. 38° 1.871′ N, 78° 29.373′ W. Marker is in Charlottesville, Virginia. It is in Starr Hill. It is at the intersection of West Main Street (Business U.S. 250) and 7th Street, on the right when traveling east on West Main Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 632 W Main St, Charlottesville VA 22903, 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 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

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8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Jefferson School (approx. 0.2 miles away); Inge's Store (approx. 0.2 miles away); Benjamin E. Tonsler Residence (approx. 0.2 miles away); Site of Mount Zion Baptist Church, 1884 (approx. ¼ mile away); Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (approx. ¼ mile away); Dedicated to You, A Free Citizen in a Free Land (approx. ¼ mile away); Roosevelt “Rosey” Brown, Jr. (approx. 0.3 miles away); The Carver Inn (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Charlottesville.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Sacajawea (was approx. ¼ mile away but has been permanently removed).

Also see . . . National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form for Delevan [First] Baptist Church. This form was processed through the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and included in a set of nominations in 2008. The church was previously included in a historic district in 1982, but approved for an individual listing. Multiple statements of significance can be found on the form:

The City of Charlottesville notes this statement of significance on page 1:

The Delevan Baptist Church, organized in 1864, is the oldest black congregation is Charlottesville. It took its name from the temperance hotel on this site which served as its first meeting place. The present church building is the only example of the Romanesque Revival remaining in Charlottesville.

First Baptist Church, West Main Street image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, June 15, 2008

2. First Baptist Church, West Main Street

On page 8, the nomination form's statement of significance follows:

First Baptist Church, now known as the Delevan Baptist Church, is directly related to the African-American community that was growing in the eastern portion of the proposed Fifeville-Castle Hill Historic District by the 1870s and is a significant contributing resource and visual landmark within this area. Black Baptists who had formerly worshipped at Charlottesville's white First Baptist Church purchased the property on which the Delevan Hospital stood (formerly known as "Mudwall") in 1868 and began construction in 1877 of what would be called the First Colored Baptist Church, completed ca. 1883. Although several other Baptist congregations split off from the "first" church, this building made a bold statement for the African-American community in downtown Charlottesville. It stands today as the only institutional building within the proposed district's boundaries and would have been convenient to the growing number of African-Americans in the Fifeville and Castle Hill neighborhoods.

Note: This nomination form was prepared in 2008, prior to the standardizing of the capitalization of Black when referring to people of African descent in 2020. (Submitted on May 17, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.)

National Register of Historic Places plaque on the church building image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), May 17, 2024

3. National Register of Historic Places plaque on the church building

Credits. This page was last revised on May 17, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 4, 2008, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 3,429 times since then and 84 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 4, 2008, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 3. submitted on May 17, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.