First Baptist Church of Philadelphia, founded in 1698, has a very long history in the city and is one of the oldest churches in the nation, writes Valerie Russ for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The church was established near Second and Chestnut streets less than two decades after William Penn established Philadelphia. In 1707, it moved to the site of a former Quaker meeting house on LaGrange Place, with a burial ground established behind the church.
In 1809, thirteen Black American members of the church petitioned to leave to form the First African Baptist Church of Philadelphia.
By the mid-1850s, First Baptist moved to Broad & Arch Streets after a growth in population. Bodies buried at the previous location were moved to Mount Moriah in Southwest Philadelphia.
First Baptist moved again in 1900 to a new church at 17th & Sansom Streets.
Over a century later, workers digging the foundation at the church’s first location uncovered loose skeletal remains. The developer, PMC Property Group, hired a professional archaeology firm to remove the remains. Almost 500 remains were exhumed from the site.
This incident has caused advocates to ask for new policies on how to deal with developments on old burial grounds in the city.
Read more about the First Baptist Church in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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