{"nrhp_refnum":"96000916","name":"First African Baptist Church at Raccoon Bluff","other_names":["Raccoon Bluff Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"E side of Sapelo Island, approximately 2 mi. N of Hog Hammock","address_restricted":false,"city":"Hog Hammock","county":"McIntosh County","state":"GA","lat":31.466891433000058,"lon":-81.23223731299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1996-09-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Black"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-and-one-half-story, three-bay frame Gothic Revival church built c.1900 at Raccoon Bluff on Sapelo Island, McIntosh County, Georgia. It is the only remaining building of the Raccoon Bluff community, and the architect and builder are unknown.","why_significant":"The church is significant in Black ethnic heritage as one of the few major post-Civil War African-American community landmarks on Sapelo Island and the only remnant of the island's oldest black-owned land settlement, founded in 1871. It is also significant in architecture as a modest, good example of a turn-of-the-century Gothic Revival African-American church built by local craftsmen. It served as the only church for the island's largest African-American community from c.1900 into the 1960s.","narrative":"Standing on the east side of Sapelo Island, Georgia, this small frame church built around 1900 is the last surviving building of the Raccoon Bluff community. That settlement began in 1871, when freedman William Hillery and two other freedmen bought the tract, making it the first black-owned land on the island. The church has a gabled sanctuary, a west-end porch with a recessed entrance, and a raised east-end choir. Gothic-arched louvered windows in the gable ends, colored-glass Queen Anne-style windows, and original wood floors and beaded paneling remain, all made by local craftsmen. The congregation dates from 1866, and the building served as the town church for baptisms, weddings and funerals until the population moved to Hog Hammock in the early 1960s. Its bell tower and balcony have been removed, and it is now unoccupied and in fair condition. It was listed for its role in African-American community life and for its architecture.","period_of_significance":"c.1900-1964","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"Mid-19th Century/Gothic Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Currently unoccupied and in fair condition; the bell tower, balcony, balcony stairs and church furniture have been removed.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:42.64094-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/96000916.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93208931","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_African_Baptist_Church_at_Raccoon_Bluff","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5452260"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/mcintosh-county/first-african-baptist-church-at-raccoon-bluff-96000916/"}