{"nrhp_refnum":"82002461","name":"Springfield Baptist Church","other_names":["See Also:Springfield Baptist Church (Boundary Increase)"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"112 12th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Augusta","county":"Richmond County","state":"GA","lat":33.47877016900003,"lon":-81.97161740299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-06-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, gable-roofed timber-frame church building at 112 Twelfth Street (rear), Augusta, Richmond County, Georgia. Built in 1801 as a Methodist church, it was moved to this site in 1844 and shifted to the rear of the lot in 1910.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the oldest extant church building in Augusta and one of the oldest in Georgia. It is a relatively rare example of the non-liturgical \"New England meetinghouse\" type in the state. Since 1844 it has housed the Springfield Baptist Church, one of the oldest independent black congregations in the United States, a major black cultural institution in Augusta.","narrative":"Built in 1801 for Augusta's first Methodist Society, this timber-frame church is the oldest surviving church building in the city and among the oldest in Georgia. It was originally located on Greene Street. In 1844 the Methodists built a new brick church and sold the wooden one to the Springfield Baptist Church, which moved it to Twelfth and Reynolds streets. In 1910 it was shifted to the rear of the lot to make room for a brick sanctuary, and it now serves as an auxiliary building. The building follows the plain meetinghouse plan, with an assembly hall and balconies, hand-planed wainscoting and plaster over hand-split lath. It was enlarged in the 1820s and remodeled around mid-century. Its congregation, independent since 1787, is among the oldest black congregations in the country. The church helped found other black institutions, including Cedar Grove Cemetery and what became Morehouse College, and it supported the community's transition from slavery to citizenship.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"Non-liturgical \"New England meetinghouse\" type church","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in fair, altered condition; since 1910 it has served as an auxiliary building with offices, meeting rooms and activity centers.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:40.495909-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/82002461.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002461/951b7450fd-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002461/951b7450fd-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Annalisa.frazier","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Springfield_Baptist_Church_2.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Annalisa.frazier</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Springfield_Baptist_Church_2.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"04000515","name":"Augusta Downtown Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/georgia/augusta-downtown-historic-district-04000515/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93209407","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springfield_Baptist_Church_(Augusta,_Georgia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7580936"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/richmond-county/springfield-baptist-church-82002461/"}