ABOUT US

Grafton Baptist Church 1860 to Now

Grafton Baptist Church, located at Old York-Hampton Highway and Hornsbyville Road, has served worshippers for 165 years.  John Steadman donated the land for a church used by both black and white congregants, but disagreements eventually ended the shared arrangement.

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Following the departure of the white congregation, the black members continued their worship in a slab building until it was replaced in 1889.  After the church was destroyed by fire in 1907, services were relocated to Diggs Hall, known as " Peach Grafton", pending the construction of a weatherboard structure.  This facility remained in use until its demolition in 1987 to make for the current church.  During the construction period, services were temporarily held at Yorktown's Masonic Hall.  In September 1988, Reverend Morrison led a motorcade from the Masonic Hall to the newly completed church in Grafton.

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Reverend Knapper was Grafton Baptist Church's first ordain minister, followed by Rev. Charles A. Green, Rev. R.H. Green, Rev. Metz, Rev. D.W. Harris, Rev. John Lovett, Rev. E.J. Jones, Rev. Thomas H. Ashe, Rev. G.T. Hall, Rev. Charles W. Green, Rev. William James Beckett,, Rev. Boston W. Morrison Jr., Rev. George R. Gholson, Rev. Reginald Bagley and current minister Rev. Wilbert Early Jr.

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