First African Baptist Church and Parsonage
Also known as: First Antioch Missionary Baptist Church
Why it's listed
A church and its parsonage stand together southeast of downtown Waycross, Georgia, in a historically African-American neighborhood. The wood-frame Gothic Revival church, built around 1905, has twin pyramidal-roofed towers, pointed-arch windows, beaded board wainscoting and a pressed tin ceiling. Behind it sits a one-story Queen Anne cottage parsonage, built around 1910, which keeps its original floor plan. The congregation began in 1870 as the Zion African Baptist Church, organized by recently freed people who first met in a log cabin. Its first pastor, Frank S. Hazzard, founded Hazzard Hill Baptist School in 1880, the first private school for Black students in Waycross and Ware County. A frame church built later was destroyed by a storm before the present building went up. The congregation is regarded as the area's oldest African-American Baptist group and the mother church for later congregations. The buildings are recognized for their architecture and for their place in local Black heritage.
Significance in brief: The church and parsonage are argued to be good, intact examples of popular architectural styles of their period, retaining original materials and floor plan. They also reflect the role of the Baptist church in the post-Civil War African-American community of Waycross. The congregation is considered the oldest African-American Baptist congregation in the area and the 'Mother Church' for later ones, and it gave rise to the first private school for Black students.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 03000197, listed April 11, 2003. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 615 Knight St. and 407 Satilla Blvd., Waycross |
|---|---|
| County | Ware County |
| Listed | April 11, 2003 |
| Reference number | 03000197 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1905-1953 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Mid-19th Century/Gothic Revival; Other/Queen Anne Cottage |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Black |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The church is still used for services; the parsonage has recently been used for Sunday school rooms, meeting space and storage. The form says neither building has had many changes. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 31.21013, -82.34333 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
Religious properties are listed for their architectural or historical significance, not their religious use. Listing is honorary and does not restrict the congregation's use of the building. The federal rehabilitation credit is generally unavailable unless part of the building is income-producing; some state programmes and preservation grants do cover religious buildings. Federal funding or permits trigger Section 106 review.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 03000197.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q16891289
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.