First African Baptist Church was founded on August 17, 1862, in Mitchelville, the first self-governed town of formerly enslaved people in the United States. It is the oldest African American congregation on Hilton Head Island. Reverend Abraham Murchison, a formerly enslaved man from Savannah, served as the first pastor and led 120 freedmen in establishing the church. In addition to his ministry, Reverend Murchison supported Union forces during the Civil War and recruited African American soldiers for the Union Army.
During the 1880s, as Mitchelville residents moved into other areas, the church relocated to a ten-acre tract at its present site. It became known as Crossroads Baptist Church, reflecting its location near the intersection of two roads. Eventually, the congregation reclaimed its original name.
Today, the Historic First African Baptist Church is recognized as the fountainhead of Baptist congregations in Hilton Head and Bluffton. These include First Zion Baptist Church in Bluffton, established in 1862; St. James Baptist Church, established in 1886; Central Oak Grove Baptist Church, established in 1887; Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church, established in 1915; and The New Church of Christ, established in 1938.
