Hopeful Meeting House began services under the ministry of Baptist pastor Reuben Ford in 1807. Ford played an important role in the post-Revolutionary struggle for religious freedom. In the 1780s, he lobbied the Virginia General Assembly on behalf of Virginia's Baptists, opposing the incorporation of the Episcopal Church and state support for “teachers of the Christian Religion.” Through his leadership, doctrinal controversies were resolved and Baptist churches were promoted as patriotic alternatives to the Episcopal Church. In July 1843, John Hope deeded five acres of land for the present sanctuary, which was dedicated on 21 May 1845. Enslaved African Americans made the bricks from nearby clay.