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The oldest Black Baptist church in the city, this fellowship grew from the slave membership of the First Baptist Church of Austin. In 1864 the Committee on Religious Conditions of the Colored Population recommended to the churches of the Austin Baptist Association that separate services be provided for their Black members. Soon after, slaves in the First Baptist congregation began attending special worship services conducted by a White missionary and a slave preacher, the Rev. Jacob Fontaine, a prominent Black leader of the city. In 1867, under the direction of the Rev. Fontaine, the First Baptist Church for Colored was formally organized with thirteen charter members. Early services for the new congregation were held in a blacksmith shop at the southwest corner of Tenth and Congress, and in the basement of the First Baptist Church. In 1869, during the administration of Mayor Leander Brown, the City of Austin deeded the church a tract of land at the corner of Ninth and Guadalupe for construction of the first sanctuary. A significant force in the development of Austin's Black community since the 1860s, the church has been led by many prominent Baptist preachers. (1981) |
