The First African Baptist Church at Raccoon Bluff is a historic church on

Sapelo Island, Georgia Sapelo Island is a state-protected barrier island located in McIntosh County, Georgia. The island is accessible only by boat; the primary ferry comes from the Sapelo Island Visitors Center in McIntosh County, Georgia, a seven-mile (11 ...

. The church was built in c.1899-1900 and is the last surviving remnant of the Raccoon Bluff community, once the largest community on Sapelo Island. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. The congregation was founded in 1866 and was the only church congregation on Sapelo Island until 1884. Its church was at Hanging Bull, on the west side of the island. That church was destroyed by the hurricane of October 2, 1898, and residents of Hanging Bull dispersed. The congregation then built this church at Raccoon Bluff c.1899-1900, using lumber washed up on the shore from the hurricane. Due to pressure to consolidate population of Sapelo Island only in

Hog Hammock Hog Hammock is an African-American community on Sapelo Island, a barrier island of the U.S. state of Georgia. The island is near the port of Darien, Georgia about south of Savannah. The entire community was listed on the National Register of H ...

, so that the rest of the island could be a hunting preserve, the congregation shifted its worship to Hog Hammock in 1963. In 1968 the congregation built a new church there, the First African Baptist Church. with In 2000, the First African Baptist Church at Raccoon Bluff was restored. by Sapelo Island residents, the state of Georgia, and students from the

Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is a private art school with locations in Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Lacoste, France. It was founded in 1978 to provide degrees in programs not yet offered in the southeast of the United ...

References

External links

Historic Rural Churches of Georgia
website, with images of the restored historic church Baptist churches in Georgia (U.S. state) Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Buildings and structures in McIntosh County, Georgia 1900 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) National Register of Historic Places in McIntosh County, Georgia First African Baptist churches Sapelo Island {{McIntoshCountyGA-NRHP-stub