New Light Beulah Baptist Church

Front: New Light Beulah Baptist Church was organized in 1867 when 565 African American members withdrew from Beulah Baptist Church. Before the Civil War enslaved people composed the majority of the Beulah congregation. After emancipation they left to form an independent congregation, with Rev. William W. Williams the first pastor. Reverse: New Light Beulah shared the sanctuary with the white members, but in 1871 they were forcibly expelled and moved to a brush arbor until a new church was built. The congregation persisted and the year 1876 saw a record number of conversions. New Light Beulah has been mother church to many other congregations in its first 150 years.