F. T. Baptist Church

J-100

F. T. Baptist Church was founded nearby as Ragged Mountain Church in 1778. According to tradition the congregation worshipped in a log structure at Sharp Rock until about 1802 before moving to the former F.T. Village by 1804 where it became known as F.T. Baptist Church. F.T. stands for Francis Thornton who received land grants in the region from the 1730s to the early 1750s. In 1816 the congregation moved to the present site and built a new structure. By 1884 the present church was constructed nearby and an addition was added later. F.T. Baptist Church fostered the founding of other churches.

Department of Historic Resources, 2005

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References/Bibliographic Citation:

Sources Consulted Include: “Francis Thornton Land Grants,” Rappahannock Historical Society Records, Washington, Virginia; F.T. Baptist Church Missing records, 1878-1894, paper copy provided by sponsor; F.T. Baptist Church, Virginia Department of Historic Resources Archives File (078-5071); Elisabeth B. Johnson, Rappahannock County, Virginia, a History: Fact, Fiction, Foolishness, and the Fairfax Story (Orange Va.: Green Publishers, 1981), 156-159; Robert B. Semple, A History of the Rise and Progress of the Baptists in Virginia (Richmond, Va.: Pitt and Dickinson, 1894), 236-237; A. Paul Thompson, F.T. Baptist Church, 1778-1978 (Orange, Va.: Green Publishers, Incorporated, 1979).