Springfield Baptist Church

Springfield Baptist Church, founded in 1787, is believed to be the oldest independent black church on its original site in the U.S. The church was formed for blacks, by blacks, and was a place of worship for "free slaves." In 1866, the Georgia Equal Rights Association was founded at Springfield, as was Morehouse College in 1867.

Springfield Baptist Church in Augusta traces its roots to the year 1773, bolstering its claim to be the oldest African American congregation in the United States. Served by African American pastors during the antebellum years, Springfield had the largest membership of any church in the Georgia Baptist Association. Some of its members emigrated to Liberia, and the church maintained a missionary connection with that country. Springfield offered Sunday school instruction in 1859, even though such classes were banned by the prevailing slave codes. In 1866 the church hosted the first meeting of the postwar Georgia Equal Rights Association, which became the Georgia Republican Party a year later. The Augusta Baptist Institute was founded at the church; twelve years later it moved to Atlanta and grew into Morehouse College.

In 1840 Springfield established the first of several daughter churches. In 1844 the church purchased the building known as Asbury Chapel from Augusta's St. John Methodist Church. The building, constructed in 1801, was moved several city blocks to the Springfield Church property on Twelfth and Reynolds streets and replaced the older church on that location. The building survives today as one of Georgia's oldest church structures.

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