First Baptist Church

First Baptist Church (HM4OD)

Location: Baltimore, MD 21205
Buy Maryland State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 39° 17.817', W 76° 35.842'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 629 views
Inscription
First Baptist Church, the oldest Black Baptist church in Maryland, was founded amidst turmoil in 1836, five years after Nat Turner's Rebellion in Virginia. Alarmed at the Rebellion, Maryland and other slave states passed laws restricting the movement of free Blacks across state lines, prohibiting the employment of free Black immigrants, and forbidding the teaching of reading and writing to slaves.

In this heavily charged atmosphere, Moses Clayton, an ex-slave and lay minister from Norfolk, Virginia was called to Baltimore by William Crane, a well-known merchant and active Baptist, also from Norfolk. Clayton arrived in Baltimore in 1834, began Sunday School classes in his home, and was ordained the following year. On February 2, 1836, the "First Colored People's Baptist Church of Baltimore" was founded and housed in a school building near Belair Market, offered rent-free by a sympathetic banker.

As minister, Clayton energetically fought for the education of Black children. He joined other activists in petitioning the City to stop taxing Blacks for the support of public schools which excluded them, and urged a separate system to be established. The petitions were rejected, but the Baptist Sunday School, through its religious and secular classes, continued to play a vital part in the struggle to provide education to the Black community.
Details
HM NumberHM4OD
Series This marker is part of the Maryland: Baltimore City Historical Markers series
Tags
Placed ByThe City of Baltimore, First Baptist Church, William Donald Schaefer, mayor
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Saturday, October 4th, 2014 at 3:46pm PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18S E 362257 N 4350946
Decimal Degrees39.29695000, -76.59736667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 39° 17.817', W 76° 35.842'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds39° 17' 49.02" N, 76° 35' 50.52" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)410, 443
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 525 N Caroline St, Baltimore MD 21205, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. What historical period does the marker represent?
  2. What historical place does the marker represent?
  3. What type of marker is it?
  4. What class is the marker?
  5. What style is the marker?
  6. Does the marker have a number?
  7. What year was the marker erected?
  8. This marker needs at least one picture.
  9. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  10. Is the marker in the median?