The Rev. E. T. Martin stands in the sanctuary of the Springfield Baptist Church in downtown Augusta. MICHAEL HOLAHAN/STAFF

Spirit of Springfield Baptist endures

Church provided beginnings of political, educational and economic power for Augusta's blacks

Web posted February 1, 1998

By Alisa DeMao
Staff Writer

The roots are here, in the still coolness of a spare brick building flanked by wire fences, crumbling downtown shops and a wide swath of grass that one day will be a golfing tourist attraction.

At the corner of 12th and Reynolds streets, in the brick and wood edifice of Springfield Baptist Church, are the remnants of the beginning of black political, educational and economic power in Augusta. The birthplace of Morehouse College, the Georgia Equal Rights Association and the state Republican party, the church would affect the course of state and national history as well.

A magnet attracting slaves and free blacks alike, Springfield Baptist helped the community achieve a critical mass of black residents and gave them the tools to begin taking control of their lives, even before emancipation. In the process, it helped shape the city Augusta would become, historians said.

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``Springfield offers black Augustans an alternative to a history of misery,'' said Ed Cashin, a historian at Augusta State University. ``It offers an insight, a window to a proud history of survival against the odds, of dignity.

``Our identity is so closely connected with our history -- our identity, our values, our attitudes are tied up with it. And if we don't know what happened, where our values and attitudes come from, then they'll come from myths and rumors -- and that's a weak foundation for someone's identity.''

The oldest black church in the United States, Springfield Baptist set its roots in Augusta in 1787 in the thriving community of Springfield Village but had its origins in the pre-Revolutionary War Silver Bluff Church in South Carolina. As the only black church in the area, it attracted congregants from miles around, growing at one point to include 1,800 members, said the Rev. E.T. Martin, the present pastor.

In contrast to other churches, it didn't begin under the supervision of a white church, and white residents of Augusta -- somewhat surprisingly -- didn't seem concerned, the pastor said.

``There were some extraordinary race relations in Augusta,'' the Rev. Martin said. ``But I think there was something else going on in Augusta to focus on. It (Springfield) wasn't a priority.

``I think this had great importance,'' he added, ``because it gave the people a sense of freer worship, and it also gave them a sense of independence. And it gave them respect from the community.''

Springfield Village was populated by slaves and free blacks, many of them tradesmen and artisans who hired out to local families and businesses. Slaves who arranged permission to live apart from their owners worked at their own businesses and sent enough earnings back to owners to keep them satisfied with the arrangement, Dr. Cashin noted in one of his books, Old Springfield: Race and Religion in Augusta, Georgia.

The Rev. Martin sits in the 200-year-old Springfield Baptist Church. The Rev. Martin said the church's congregation included as many as 1,800 members when it was the only black church in the area. MICHAEL HOLAHAN/STAFF

These black residents of Augusta also practiced an early form of nonviolent resistance -- long before the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s -- as they simply ignored city ordinances designed to inhibit their freedom and keep them in ``their place,'' the historian pointed out. They learned to read and write, worked in printing shops, sold beer and food, and left their lights on after 10 p.m., all in quiet defiance of state laws and city ordinances.

``When emancipation came, they were ready to supply leadership out of Springfield and the other churches,'' he said of the empowered black congregation. ``A whole class of merchants and lawyers and doctors came out of that era.''

In the wake of the Civil War, Springfield and its daughter churches would set up schools, including the Augusta Institute, which would move to Atlanta and become Morehouse College, alma mater of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., among other black leaders. A meeting of the state Equal Rights Association at Springfield gave birth to the state Republican Party.

It was the heyday of Springfield Baptist, which slowly lost its primacy to its daughter churches as the residential area in downtown Augusta dwindled and people began attending churches closer to their homes. During the early 20th century -- the era of Jim Crow and the first stirrings of the civil rights movement -- Springfield's position was an anchor of patience and quiet perseverance, the Rev. Martin said.

He believes the skills and self-motivation learned from Springfield helped black residents in expanding their sphere of influence and developing a black business district, which came to be known as the ``Golden Blocks,'' before desegregation.

``When you're teaching the word of God, there is an alleviation of bitterness,'' he said. ``You are able to focus on the growth of the community, not revenge. They learned that no matter who was responsible, contributing to the community was always profitable.''

Seeds planted by Springfield flourished in its daughter and granddaughter churches during the struggle of the 1950s and 1960s -- particularly Tabernacle Baptist Church under the pastorship of history makers the Rev. Charles T. Walker and the Rev. C.S. Hamilton. Both pushed for civil rights, and the Rev. Hamilton -- who would later serve on the Augusta City Commission -- counseled Paine College students who desegregated city buses and lunch counters.

``Tabernacle was the focal point in the 1960s,'' said Augusta historian James Carter. ``That was where all the rallies and the strategy meetings were held. The Rev. Martin Luther King spoke there, Justice Thurgood Marshall spoke there. ... Everybody came there. It was the center of activity.''

In recent years, Springfield has emerged from obscurity as the Springfield Village Park Foundation Inc. and Augusta Tomorrow developed plans for a historical park that would stretch almost a city block from the church's site. Plans for the $1.3 million revitalization project have included a spring, a monument to Morehouse College and a living-history museum.

Historians hope the project will inform more people of events few remember, they said.

``It's extraordinary that it's been here, and we don't recognize it,'' Dr. Cashin said. ``I hope that will change when Springfield Village Park is completed.''