Church and School

The Curtis Memorial Freewill Baptist Church served as a spiritual anchor in the lives of both the students and teachers of Storer College, one of the first schools for African Americans in the segregated South, where school and mission work were inseparably interwoven. Life at Storer College was sometimes difficult, and students and teachers alike faced hostility from local white residents but found solace in religion. In 1894, the Freewill Baptists built the church to accommodate the needs of this growing community. The school’s best singers provided music every Sunday, students were required to attend daily chapel services and two church services each week, many remained lifelong members of the church, and its windows were dedicated to some of the northern Freewill Baptist congregations that supported Storer College through missionary programs.

Lovettsville, Maryland · United States