Built in the late 1800s, the Bethel Primitive Baptist Church is located in East Point. The town was founded in 1870, so it is believed this is one of the first churches built in the area. There is a small cemetery behind the church. The lot is enclosed by a chain link fence, so I was unable to explore the cemetery. The church was partially restored and stabilized in 2011.
Founded in 1884, St. Luke’s Baptist Church is still an active church with services every other Sunday. It was formed by former members of the First African Baptist Church. The church was initially called the 2nd Baptist Church. Current structure has been in use since 1902.
St. Luke’s also had one of two Rosenwald Schools on the island. Everything I’ve read states that the school is still standing and is being used by the church. If that is the case, this is the school, but it has been heavily modified. I hope to get confirmation that this is the building.
Founded in 1872, this church is still active. It’s not the same congregation as the Isle of Hope Baptist Church. The current structure was built in the 1940s.
Pin Point Cemetery shares land with the Sweetfield of Eden Baptist Church. It’s a small cemetery in the heart of the fishing community founded by freedmen and women from the Sea Islands. I cannot discern if the Pin Point Cemetery and Sweetfield of Eden graveyard are the same or if there was a boundary line that was no longer apparent.
The church is located south of Savannah in a community known as Burroughs. Burroughs was formed from the land that was once made up of Wild Heron Plantation. The congregation was formed in 1891 after a split from the First Bethel Baptist Church. In 1893, the church was built on land donated by J. D. Campbell.
It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
Founded in 1886 by Reverend Ulysses S. Houston of the First Bryan Baptist Church in Savannah, the Houston Baptist Church was founded to provide for the spiritual needs of the men and women of Rice Hope Plantation. The church, and the adjoining cemetery, sit on part of the land that used to make up the plantation. When built, it took over the footprint of a praise house that existed there during slavery.
The church was active until the 1970s. Unfortunately, it fell into disrepair, and it almost collapsed after a storm in 2007. The community chose to rebuild the historic church. It presently is a museum that focuses on the Black history of the surrounding community.
For earlier photos before restoration and more history, please read The Houston Museum Project.
