Preserving Legacy, Promoting Culture & Community
Preserving Legacy, Promoting Culture & Community
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Welcome Friends!
Join us in preserving the sacred spaces where faith transformed bondage into belonging and where that legacy lives on through community, culture, and courage.
Our Mission
The rehabilitation, restoration and sustainment of a coastal Gullah Geechee sacred place that holds historical, architectural and cultural significance in the 'whole story' of a formerly enslaved people and their descendants while creating an authentic space to promote intergenerational learning, scholarly research and community engagement programs.
Preserving the Past. Inviting the Future.
May was National Historic Preservation Month — and the Friends of Historic Nicholsonboro Baptist Church, Inc. marked it with purpose.
We welcomed the community to our sacred grounds as part of the City of Savannah's Stories in Stone educational tour series, sharing the living Gullah Geechee heritage of the White Bluff and Coffee Bluff community through our 1870 Praise House and 1890 Sanctuary. Thank you to the City of Savannah, the Savannah Municipal Archives, and every guest who joined us.
We also launched our Meet the Match campaign — issued by Community Preservation Advocates Lewis B. Hall Sr. and Joan Hall. This community answered with extraordinary generosity, raising over 100% of the match goal. Every dollar goes directly toward the stabilization and rehabilitation of the 1870 Praise House and 1890 Sanctuary — sacred structures of a congregation rooted in faith and freedom since 1850. Lewis and Joan, thank you for believing in this community.
As we enter June — Juneteenth Month — we extend an open invitation to preservationists, educators, and community advocates who believe Savannah's complete history deserves to be honored and protected.
Historical Nicholsonboro Baptist Church has stood as a testament to faith, freedom, and Gullah Geechee heritage. We are seeking partners to ensure it stands for generations to come.
Connect with us. Help us tell Savannah's whole story.
The Sacred Ground We Protect
The Sacred Ground We Protect
Discover the two historic structures at the heart of our mission.
Each represents a chapter in an unbroken story of faith and community.
The First Freedom
The First Freedom
The original sanctuary built by formerly enslaved hands, where the first prayers of a free people were spoken.
The Monument in Crisis
The Monument in Crisis
The architectural soul of our campus—photographed by preservation advocate W.W. Law and sacred to generations of worshippers, now faces a race against time to be saved."
We Are in a Race Against Time...
The sacred places where generations were married and mourned is structurally failing.
Every season we wait, the cost rises and the risk of irreversible loss grows.
But we're not waiting anymore.
And We're
Ready to Win!
We have the plan. We have the partners. We have the pathway to success.
✓ Preservation roadmap: In development
✓ Grant opportunities: Being identified
✓ Community support: Growing daily
✓ Partner organizations: Fully engaged
What we need is you.
You Don't Need Ancestry Here... You Need Heart
This church was built by people who understood that legacy isn't about bloodlines, it's about who shows up to do the work.
Whether you're a direct descendant, a preservation advocate, a history lover, or someone who simply believes this story deserves to survive: you belong here.
Something Beautiful is ALWAYS Growing Here
Something Beautiful is ALWAYS Growing Here
Our full website is currently under development, much like the historic restoration we're undertaking.
We're building more than just a website, we're crafting a digital home worthy of the powerful stories we preserve.
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