First Baptist Church, originally known as Lexington African Baptist Church, is a historic

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

building in the city of Lexington,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It was built between 1894 and 1896, and is a large brick church on a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

basement in the Gothic Revival style. It has a front gable roof, round and lancet-arch stained glass windows, and towers at its two front corners. The right hand tower has a belfry and spire. The interior consists of a barrel-vaulted auditorium with a gallery on turned posts and the basement has classroom and meeting spaces. Historically First Baptist played a central role in the life of Lexington's African-American community. an
''Accompanying four photos''
/ref> It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 2006.

References

External links

First Baptist Church Facebook page
!-- there doesn't seem to be any other website for the church --> African-American history of Virginia 19th-century Baptist churches in the United States Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Baptist churches in Virginia Gothic Revival church buildings in Virginia Churches completed in 1896 Churches in Lexington, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Lexington, Virginia {{Virginia-church-stub