Grace Baptist Church, founded in the 1890s, “was once the home of a thriving community of Christians, who erected its walls to support the emerging community and descendants of former bondsmen who were seeking the American Dream. They were free. They were free to worship as they saw fit. They were free to labor for themselves and their families. They were free from their former masters who controlled every element and detail of their hard and dreary lives, characterized by hours of back-breaking labor, violence, separation, and sale.”

-The Front Porch Genealogist, Terri Ward.

The church is located in the heart of Darien, Georgia, the second oldest planned city in Georgia circa 1736. Shortly after the colony of Georgia permitted slavery, an untold number of Africans were imported, bought, and sold. Their stolen labor grew the economies of Coastal Georgia’s rice, cotton, and timber plantations. Today, Darien and McIntosh County are home to thriving Geechee communities that are constantly under threat due mainly to their loss of land. The church is located on 3 city lots bordering one of Darien’s historic squares, which increases the threat to lose the church. 

This sweet church is now under greater threat as the result of damage from an oak tree, and the City of Darien has deemed the building unsafe. A decision will be made to demolish or restore it. A recent court case gave the remaining church heirs 60-90 days for a resolution. 

Earlier this year, the only museum in Darien interpreting African American history and genealogy, The Burning of Darien Museum was removed from a city owned building. We want to restore the building, re-open the museum, and continue our genealogy work. 

 We need to 1. Stabilize 2. Purchase from the remaining heirs, and 3. Restore
The church congregation has long ceased to use the building, but we want the building to continue in community use. We’ve already lost untold African American heritage during a former Blight Ordinance and we want to keep the culture, heritage, and memory thriving in the Vernon-Columbus Square district. 

Notable families associated with Grace Church: 
Bleach and Stewart families: These families were sold during the Weeping Time and found their way back to Darien after the Civil War. 
Brawley family: Benjamin Griffith Brawley became the first Dean of Morehouse College. 
Rogers family: WH Rogers was the only African American member of the 99th Georgia Assembly in 1907. He resigned as State Representative after laws were passed prohibiting African Americans from serving. 

Please sign this petition is support of saving the Church and we can continue to tell the untold stories.