Antioch Baptist: Area’s oldest black church

Antioch Baptist Church will celebrate its 150th anniversary with a huge party next summer. In 1859, the African Church — Antioch’s original name — organized at Mount Pony Baptist at the courthouse and continued to meet during and after the Civil War. By May 1867, the church reorganized under the name Antioch. The first congregation met at a Confederate barracks located near the railroad station.

The Rev. Harrison Blair, Henry Lightfoot, Alexander Hart and Alexander Jackson led services there until the fall of 1870 when the church moved to Locust Street. By November 1873 that church had burned, forcing trustees to purchase a $3,000 brick warehouse near the railroad. In 1886, a white couple, Thomas S. and Josephine Alcocke, donated the land for members to build Antioch’s current location on South West Street. In May 2006, the town dedicated a commemorative marker in front of the Gothic-style church. The Rev. Milton Branch has served since 2001. The photo at top was taken in 1912.