
Alfred StreetBaptist Church (Alexandria, Virginia)
Rev. Dr.
Howard-John Wesley, Pastor
Alfred Street
Baptist Church traces its origins to 1803, during the period when Thomas
Jefferson served as the third president of the United States. At that time,
Baptists in Northern Virginia worshipped at the Backlick Baptist Church on
Little River Turnpike. However, in April 1803, members from Alexandria,
Virginia separated from them to form the Alexandria Baptist Society. Susan
Black, a Negro slave was baptized as its first colored member in May 1803, and
soon other coloreds were invited to join this integrated group. In 1806, the
colored members formally established the Colored Baptist Society of Alexandria
as a ‘conjoined’ church with the Alexandria Baptist Society. This created the
first black Baptist church north of Richmond, Virginia. In 1815, its numbers
grew when slaves from Mount Vernon Plantation joined the Colored Baptist
Society. During 1818, members of the Colored Baptist Society were
able to rent property at 313 South Alfred Street to hold their meetings. After
18 years of renting, they purchased the site in September 1842.