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First Regular Baptist Church, Dresden

Photos and transcription by contributor Wayne Adam - Posted August, 2012

Photo Source - Canadian Baptist Archives

Plaque Location

The Municipality of Chatham-Kent
In Dresden, on Queen Street East on the south side
just east of St. George Street (Road 21)

Coordinates: N 42 35.450 W 82 10.739

Plaque Text

The First Baptist Church of Dawn - established by former slaves and free African Americans in the 1840s - held its meetings in private homes, then in a log chapel at the British American Institute. In the 1850s, a Baptist congregation met on Main Street in Dresden, until a lot was purchased from parishioner George Johnson on the present site. A church was built by the congregation and the inaugural service of the First Regular Baptist Church was held on November 15, 1857. Reverends William P. Newman and Samuel H. Davis, the church's "founding fathers," were prominent abolitionists and former British American Institute headmasters. Newman raised much of the funding, and Davis oversaw the construction of the church, donating 100 cords of wood to pay for the sawing of the lumber, which forms the original structure of the chapel to this day. For generations, the church has been an integral part of community life in Dresden. Today, it stands as a testament to the faith, fortitude and determination of these early pioneers.

Related Ontario plaques
First Baptist Church, Puce
The Queenston Baptist Church
The Sandwich First Baptist Church

More
Churches

More
Black History

Other Plaques in Dresden
The Dawn Settlement
The Founding of Dresden
Hugh Burnett and the National Unity Association
Josiah Henson (1789-1883)

More
Chatham-Kent Plaques

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