Stop 1

The Historic Church

The current Soapstone Baptist Church opened in 1968, but the congregation's roots stretch back to times immediately following emancipation around 1865.

The first worship services were held outdoors atop a massive soapstone boulder. Later, a small wooden church served the community for generations before it was destroyed during the wave of Black church burnings in the 1960s.

Refusing to give up, members of the congregation raised funds by selling fruits and vegetables grown from the land. Their pastor personally laid the concrete blocks for the new sanctuary — one row at a time — until the church doors reopened just a year later in 1968.