Trinity Baptist Church

Front: Trinity Baptist organized in 1868, with Rev. Wesley J. Parnell (d.1873) serving as its first pastor. The church initially met at the home of members Jacob and Sarah Lindsey on Front St. before obtaining a property at the corner of Dargan and Marlboro Sts. The church acquired this site in 1884 and began meeting in a small frame sanctuary. Construction began on the current church around 1893 and finished by 1909. Reverse: One of the city’s oldest historically black churches, Trinity became an important site for African American religious and civic life in 20th century Florence. Ministers often held city and state leadership positions. Beginning in the 1940s, the church was a hub of activity related to the civil rights movement, hosting meetings, N.A.A.C.P. events, and national figures like Thurgood Marshall and Fannie Lou Hamer.