{"nrhp_refnum":"92001734","name":"Hopeful Baptist Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Winter Rd. E of jct. with Blythe Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Keysville","county":"Burke County","state":"GA","lat":33.20968409100004,"lon":-82.13401883399996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1993-01-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Black","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story, frame Greek Revival church on Winter Road near Keysville in rural Burke County, Georgia, built 1850-1851, with an associated cemetery and several later outbuildings.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is a nearly classic rural example of Greek Revival temple-form architecture that retains its original pews, pulpit, hardware, windows and moldings. It is also significant for Black history and religion, because it documents an antebellum congregation of white and enslaved Black members who worshiped together, with a section of pews set aside for slaves, until the Black members left in 1867 to form Second Hopeful Baptist.","narrative":"Hopeful Baptist Church is a rural Greek Revival church on Winter Road near Keysville in Burke County, Georgia. Built between 1850 and 1851 of local heart pine, it is a one-story frame building on hand-made brick piers, with a gabled temple front, four round masonry columns, pilasters, an entablature and long Stone Mountain granite steps. Inside, the original handcrafted pews, high pulpit, hardware and windows survive. The congregation dates to 1815, and this is its fourth meeting house. Before the Civil War, white members and enslaved Black members worshiped together here, and the rear pews were set aside for the enslaved. Black members were allowed their own preacher once a month from 1855 and left in 1867 to found Second Hopeful Baptist. The property also includes a historic cemetery and later outbuildings. It was recognized for its architecture and for its record of a biracial antebellum congregation.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1850-1942","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Active congregation; church and grounds described as well maintained, with no major restoration or alteration since 1851 apart from vinyl siding, electricity and heating added in the twentieth century.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:43.199697-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/92001734.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92001734/6f5606992e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92001734/6f5606992e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Jud McCranie","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hopeful_Baptist_Church,_Keysville,_GA,_US.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jud McCranie</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hopeful_Baptist_Church,_Keysville,_GA,_US.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93207173","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopeful_Baptist_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16892420"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/burke-county/hopeful-baptist-church-92001734/"}