292:, Gillfield's tenth pastor, led the congregation from 1961 until his retirement at age 65 in 1997, and participated in several Freedom Marches as well. When Rev. Powell began his ministry at Gillfield, eggs were thrown at his door, he received threatening phone calls at home at midnight, and a cross was burned in front of the church during a 1963 revival service (for which police soon arrested a suspect). In 1970, Gillfield Baptist Church made history again when under Powell's auspices, the church ordained seven women as deacons, including:
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258:(SCLC). Gillfield Baptist was used for mass meetings to educate people and to prepare for demonstrations. Walker was arrested numerous times in the civil rights struggle, the first when he led a group from the church into the "white" public library. He also founded the Petersburg Improvement Association (PIA), a group modeled on the
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In 1818, the church members purchased a lot on Perry Street in the
Gillfield neighborhood of central Petersburg (named for Revolutionary veteran Erasmus Gill who laid out the streets before 1798). They built the first of what would be four successive church buildings at this site. The current church
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is the second-oldest black
Baptist congregation in Petersburg, Virginia and one of the oldest in the nation. It has the oldest handwritten record book of any black church. It was organized in 1797 as a separate, integrated congregation. In 1818 it built its first church at its current lot on Perry
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Admitted to the
Portsmouth Baptist Association in 1810, Gillfield Baptist then had 270 members. Free blacks continued to migrate to Petersburg. By 1821 Gillfield Baptist had the largest congregation within the association. At 441 members, it was more than twice as large as the next ranking church.
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Minutes of church and association meetings show they struggled with issues of
Christianity within a slave society. The pressures and narrow edge kept by black congregations can be demonstrated by the fact that Gillfield Baptist dismissed more than one enslaved member for running away. They upheld
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In 1829 the
Portsmouth Baptist Association tried to force the congregation of Gillfield Baptist into a consolidation with the white congregation of Market Street Church. It was another way for whites to try to exert control over a congregation. The Gillfield members resisted and stayed at their own
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These were the earliest decades of the
Baptist Church in Virginia, influenced by preachers from New England who generated revivals. As more churches were started, members came together in an association in the southeast. In 1781 it split into two parts along state lines for Virginia and North
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While it had free blacks taking active roles, the church was led by white pastors in some of its early years. In addition, through the regional
Baptist associations, whites tried to keep control over black congregations. They also began to restrict activities by black members.
308:. Following Rev. Powell's retirement Rev. Dr. George W. C. Lyons led the congregation, and Rev. Powell became interim pastor at several churches (mostly in Richmond, Virginia). An active congregation keeps Gillfield Baptist Church at the center of community life in Petersburg.
204:. For years before this, they had been represented by free blacks such as Israel Decoudry, of West Indian descent. In 1838 the Gillfield congregation made another appeal to the Portsmouth Association to select their own delegate, but they were refused. After
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of 1831, the state legislature passed a bill requiring that every congregation have a white minister leading it, to try to control the message which congregations would hear. They wanted preachers to stress the duty of blacks to stay in their places.
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Carolina. The twenty-one congregations in
Virginia formed the Portsmouth Baptist Association. Representatives worked together to form church policy. From 1810 to 1828 they began to work on Foreign Missions and Christian Education.
224:. The church left the Portsmouth Association and joined a state black Baptist convention, aided by the Consolidated American Baptist Convention, to escape the supervision of whites. This was the forerunner of the
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220:(1831–1900) as the first black minister of Gillfield Baptist Church since 1831. He served as the pastor from 1865 to 1900, leading the congregation through major changes during and after the
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church. But, that year they did have to accede to having members of Market Street Church represent them in
Portsmouth Association meetings, a situation that lasted until after the
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637:, compiled by F.H. Norris, Church Clerk, published in 1937. (Note: A copy of the book is housed in Special Collections and Archives, Virginia Commonwealth University Library.)
169:, in 1786, as the Davenport Church. In 1797, it was recognized as a separate institution with an integrated congregation which also included slave and free members.
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254:, whom he had met when they were both in divinity school, Walker led efforts in Petersburg to end racial segregation. With King, he was a co-founder of the
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235:. A leading advocate of black teachers for black students, Williams encouraged students in teaching careers. He was politically active into the 1880s.
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from 1960 to 1964. These were years when he helped it develop effective strategy and national prominence in civil rights actions, including the
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Grady W. Powell, Sr., From
Morning 'til Evening: the Autobiography of Grady W. Powell, Sr. (Belle Isle Books 2015) pp. 67-68, 116-119
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Like many ministers, Williams was a leader in the larger community as well. He was elected to the City Council of Petersburg during
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Henry Chase, "Proud, free and black: Petersburg – visiting the Virginia location of the largest number of 19th century free slaves"
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Brief History of Gillfield Baptist Church, Petersburg, Virginia: Commemorating its One Hundred Fortieth Anniversary, 1797–1937
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The current historic church was constructed in 1874–1879 at 209 Perry Street.
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Walker left Gillfield Baptist to become executive director of the SCLC in
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community of Petersburg. It took the name of Sandy Beach Baptist Church.
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Slave Religion: The 'Invisible Institution' in the Antebellum South
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Slave Religion: The 'Invisible Institution' in the Antebellum South
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Slave Religion: The 'Invisible Institution' in the Antebellum South
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Slave Religion: The 'Invisible Institution' in the Antebellum South
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Slave Religion: The 'Invisible Institution' in the Antebellum South
270:. By May 1960 the PIA had 3,000 members from the Petersburg area.
674:"Petersburg Baptist Association to celebrate century of ministry"
516:, Virginia Commonwealth University Library, accessed 27 Dec 2008
382:, Virginia Commonwealth University Library, accessed 27 Dec 2008
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Martin Luther King, Clayborne Carson, Peter Holloran, et al.,
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After the Civil War, in 1865 the congregation called Reverend
526:"Inventory of the Wyatt Tee Walker Papers, 1963–1982, n.d."
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The Civil Rights Revolution: Events and Leaders, 1955–1968
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The Civil Rights Revolution: Events and Leaders, 1955–1968
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in Petersburg. It continues to serve the community today.
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Virginia Heritage: Brown vs. Board of Education Resources
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Virginia Heritage: Brown vs. Board of Education Resources
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In 1800, the black majority of Davenport Church moved to
579:, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992, p.463
493:, Virginia State University, 2004, accessed 30 Dec 2008
477:, Virginia State University, 2004, accessed 30 Dec 2008
461:, Oxford University Press, p. 145, accessed 27 Dec 2008
446:, Oxford University Press, p. 188, accessed 27 Dec 2008
431:, Oxford University Press, p. 188, accessed 27 Dec 2008
416:, Oxford University Press, p. 143, accessed 27 Dec 2008
346:, Oxford University Press, p. 143, accessed 27 Dec 2008
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an ideal of duty over the person's desire to be free.
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Baptist organizations established in the 18th century
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714:19th-century Baptist churches in the United States
564:, Jefferson, NC: McFarland Publishing, 2004, p.163
250:led Gillfield Baptist Church. A confidant of Rev.
503:"Gillfield Baptist Church, Petersburg, Virginia"
369:"Gillfield Baptist Church, Petersburg, Virginia"
392:"History of the Portsmouth Baptist Association"
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602:, Stanford University, accessed 31 Dec 2008
551:, Stanford University, accessed 31 Dec 2008
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111:www.gillfieldbaptistchurchpetersburg.org/
401:, Official Website, accessed 31 Dec 2008
256:Southern Christian Leadership Conference
151:Southern Christian Leadership Conference
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576:The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr.
487:"The Reverend Henry Williams' Papers"
471:"The Reverend Henry Williams' Papers"
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694:African-American history of Virginia
331:, Jun–Jul 1994, accessed 27 Dec 2008
33:Gillfield Baptist Church, Petersburg
640:Frederic O. Sargent, Bill Maxwell,
560:Frederic O. Sargent, Bill Maxwell,
184:was constructed from 1874 to 1879.
657:, Gillfield Baptist Church Website
260:Montgomery Improvement Association
145:In 1957 its ninth pastor the Rev.
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16:Church in Virginia, United States
226:National Baptist Convention, USA
167:Prince Edward County, Virginia
153:, led the congregation in the
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644:, McFarland Publishing, 2004
206:Nat Turner's slave rebellion
176:, the center of the growing
149:(1953–1959), co-founded the
670:, African American Heritage
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709:African-American churches
514:Church Minutes Collection
380:Church Minutes Collection
165:The church originated in
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655:Gillfield Baptist Church
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294:Dr.Louise J. Thompson
268:Civil Rights Movement
155:Civil Rights Movement
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441:Albert J. Raboteau,
426:Albert J. Raboteau,
411:Albert J. Raboteau,
341:Albert J. Raboteau,
298:Martha E. Moorefield
290:Grady W. Powell, Sr.
121:Heritage designation
82:Petersburg, Virginia
633:Luther P. Jackson,
620:Powell, pp. 103-106
283:March on Washington
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538:"Wyatt Tee Walker"
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52:77°24′28″W
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262:(MIA) in
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161:History
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