The Sandwich First Baptist Church

and

Sandwich First Baptist Church 1851

These two plaques are at the same location.
Both can be seen on this page.

Photo by contributor Wayne Adam - Posted September, 2011

Photo by Alan L Brown - Posted June, 2009

Plaque Location

The County of Essex
The City of Windsor
At 3652 Peter Street between
Prince Road and Watkins Street

Coordinates: N 42 17.510 W 83 04.802

Plaque Text

Erected in 1851 on land donated by the Crown, the Sandwich First Baptist Church represents the once numerous Black border-town churches which were built to serve the rapidly increasing numbers of Underground Railroad settlers. This church received, sheltered, and assisted many of these new arrivals. All members were required to aid in its construction by giving donations or making bricks. A focal point for many local anti-slavery activities, the Sandwich First Baptist Church stands as an important symbol of that struggle.

Photo by contributor Wayne Adam - Posted September, 2011

Photo Source - Wikimedia Commons

Plaque Text

Eleven freedom-seekers from the American South formed the congregation of Sandwich First Baptist Church about 1840, calling themselves the Close Communion of Baptists. It was one of three founding churches of the Amherstburg Baptist Association (1841), a cross-border organization of black Baptists that is still active today. Until 1847, when they built a small log cabin, members of First Baptist worshipped in homes and outdoors. To build this church, they hewed lumber by hand and moulded bricks from Detroit River clay, firing them in a home-made kiln. The church was dedicated on August 1, 1851, the eighteenth anniversary of the passage of the Emancipation Act, which ended slavery throughout the British Empire.

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