First African Baptist Church, the oldest black church in Liberty County, grew out of North Newport Baptist Church, founded in 1809. In 1818, the North Newport Church, composed of both white and black members, purchased this site and built a church here with a gallery for enslaved members. When the North Newport Church moved to Walthourville in 1854, black members in this area continued using the old building. In 1861, those black members formed their own church organization, and the Reverend Charles Thin became the first black pastor. On July 20, 1878, the North Newport Church sold the building to A. M. McIver for $225 for use by First African Baptist Church. One of the church's early white pastors was the Reverend Josiah Spry Law, for whom both blacks and whites erected a cenotaph here in 1854. Three neighboring churches were later formed from this church's membership: First Zion Baptist Church in 1870, First African Baptist Church of Jones in 1896, and Baconton Baptist Church in 1897.