First Baptist Church

First Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, is home to the oldest Baptist congregation in Lynchburg. The pious beginnings of this church reflect the city’s morals and values, and it is honored around the city for spawning many separate Baptist congregations. 

But, these same morals created sordid intentions—ones that led to the death of 14 people and created one of the most haunted churches in Lynchburg. 

The Court Street Baptist Church was created by former slaves and members of the First Baptist Church who were exiled due to the color of their skin. 

This African-American congregation was formed in 1843 and became the mother congregation for all other black Baptist churches across the city. 

They are remembered, however, for something far more terrible. On October 16th, 1878, the decrepit building, a former theater that this African-American community gathered in collapsed. 

Fourteen people died in what was described as a “mass of writhing humanity” that fateful night. Because of this, there are various reports of spiritual activity in the old church, now the tallest building in Lynchburg. 

Journey into the unknown with US Ghost Adventures as we take a look into Lynchburg’s most haunted church! 

First Baptist Church

While the original settlers of Lynchburg were largely Quakers, many Baptists began to gather in the prosperous city during the early 1800s. The First Baptist congregation was formed in July of 1815 and served the white and black communities in Lynchburg. The Gothic building we see today was not built until 1886. 

Due to the strong Quaker influence in the city, with eight of the eleven original trustees of Lynchburg being Quakers, slavery was opposed by many. The Quakers emancipated many African slaves, starting with the city’s foundation in 1757. 

They even went so far as to ban any members of their congregation who owned slaves from gathering at their meeting house. The Baptists, however, did not share these sentiments. 

While they allowed slaves to worship under the Christian faith, they did so more to control them rather than for their spiritual well-being. 

African slaves often gathered at “invisible churches” on their master’s plantations and practiced a mixture of their fading African religions and their newly adopted Christian faith. These were more than just religious centers, they became centers for change. 

The 1831 Nat Turner Rebellion was formed at one of these invisible churches. After it was quelled, white plantation owners became much more wary of their slaves’ religious practices. 

Court Street Baptist Church 

The Quakers, over the generations, freed many African members of the First Baptist Church. Although this allowed them certain freedoms that others were denied, they were still watched closely by the white members of the congregation. 

Fears of another rebellion were always on the minds of white society, so when Black members of the congregation decided to create their own church in 1843, they were closely watched. 

The African Baptist Church was consecrated only under the guidance of white ministers, and one was always present during sermons. And as time went along, racial prejudices of the time made it more and more difficult for these believers to worship. 

When the Court Street Baptist Church was founded, only a few blocks down from The First Baptist Church, there was a strong movement by whites to expel the new church from the all-white neighborhood. 

While this once allowed the white population to monitor the activity of their slaves, it now posed a threat. The newly freed people were unwelcome in the neighborhood.