Jerusalem Baptist Church

K-320

Jerusalem Baptist Church was organized as Mt. Joy Baptist Church in 1867 at the nearby home of Mondoza Bailey, community leader and carpenter. Amelia "Mother" Howard assisted in the organization of this and six other churches. Sent by the United States Freedmen's Bureau, Howard, a teacher from Pennsylvania, helped to establish African American schools and churches in the region. Bailey led church members in the construction of a wooden building. Nancy Ellis James, born a free African American woman, and her family provided the land here for the church. The current brick structure was built in 1993.

Department of Historic Resources, 2003

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References/Bibliographic Citation:

James E. Atkins, Jerusalem Baptist Church, Carsley, Surry County, Va.: Its Roots, Beginnings, Community, Early Members and History with Some Rambling Notes (Richmond, Va.: James Atkins, 199-); W. Herbert George, The History of Negro Churches in Surry County, Virginia (Smithfield, Va.: Modlin Printing Co., n.d.); Jerusalem Baptist Church, Waverly, Virginia, November 21, 1999, “A Church as A Living Witness for Christ,” 132nd Church Anniversary.