Mount Pleasant Baptist Church (Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this roadside historical marker:

Mount Pleasant Baptist Church:
Mount Pleasant Baptist Church was founded in 1867 during post-Civil War Reconstruction. Freedmen were given one acre of land for religious and educational purposes and a burying ground for colored people. The first church was a one-room wooden structure was built ca. 1881 and was replaced by a Depression-era brick church in 1931. This structure was later renamed the Pinkett and Sheppard Memorial Chapel after two former pastors. The church played a vital role in the Mount Pleasant community where freedmen settled, many of whom were farmers.

Marker Erected 2017 by Fairfax County History Commission.

Editor's Note: The burial ground is located directly behind the church.


<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>
<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

Here follows a history of the church as published on their church website:

1867-2022—A PROUD HISTORY:
A church is its people. The history of a church is the story of what God has done through people. Thus, when we consider the history of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church it is really a part of God’s story. Each success and each challenge should remind one that only what we do for Christ will last. The history of the people comprising Mount Pleasant Baptist Church extends back to 1863 when many of them were granted freedom from slavery and similar servitude. This group of brave men and women out of slavery traveled hundreds of miles by foot through unfamiliar territory comprised mainly of trails, cow paths and murky swamps and settled in the Alexandria area. Although they arrived as freed slaves with no formal education, and no previous business knowledge, God blessed them to make homes for their families.

The success of these men and women attracted the attention of Mr. Charles H. Brown (a white man) and he offered 60 acres of land for sale. Many persons bought the land and built homes. These early settlers included such persons as Catherine Johnson, Giles Payne, William Nutt, John Curry, Andrew Jackson, Fenton Somers, Michael Miner, Jim Hinshaw, Ennis Jackson, Brown Sheppard, and Georgianna Sheppard.

The village created by the homes of these persons was named Mount Pleasant as a reflection of the cooperation and pleasantness that existed among the residents and because the village was located on a hill. Mr. Brown, who sold them the land, thought that a settlement would not be complete without a church, so he gave one acre of land “to be used exclusively for religious and school purposes and for a burying ground by and for colored people.” On September 7, 1867, Mr. Brown and his wife, Eliza, deeded the land “to Andrew Jackson, Fenton Somers, William Nutt, and John Curry, freedmen of Fairfax County.” These men organized the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in 1867.

The first church had one small room and was made of pine logs. It was used for worship services on Sunday and as a school during the week. In 1881, a mere 14 years later, a frame church was built and it doubled the size of the original building. New families into the community included names such as Pinkett, Scott, Warner, Moore, Butler, Gaskins, and Wheeler. These families continue to be an integral part of the church.

As the people worked for the cause of Christ, the church continued to grow, making it necessary to build again in 1931. The program of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church broadened to provide varied avenues for Christian worship, service, fellowship, and religious education. All was designed to address the needs of the people and promote the cause of Christ.

In the mid-1970’s, a new building became mandatory. The official ground breaking for the new edifice was held July 17, 1976. The March-in followed a year later on August 7, 1977. God blessed the people and on April 3, 1983, being free of debt, the mortgage for the new sanctuary was burned.

On September 20, 1992, the sanctuary of the church built in 1931 was refurbished, officially dedicated and named the Pinkett and Sheppard Memorial Chapel thus celebrating the work of two former pastors. The nursery and other areas of the building were modified in recent years.

Today the congregation numbers about 1,000. The cemetery has an unknown number of unmarked graves along with 75 marked ones.