Rose Hill Missionary Baptist Church, Natchez, Mississippi (1854- )

April 23, 2014 
/ Contributed By: Quin'Nita F. Cobbins-Modica

Rose Hill Missionary Baptist Church

Rose Hill Missionary Baptist Church

Courtesy of Roscoe Barnes III

Rose Hill Missionary Baptist Church of Natchez, Mississippi, traces its origins as far back as 1837 in a shared legacy with First Baptist Church and later Wall Street Baptist Church, two predominantly white congregations in Natchez in 1850. It is, however, recognized as the oldest organized Black Baptist congregation in Mississippi and the oldest African American church in Natchez. A deed filed in the Adams County Courthouse in 1858 documented a separate Baptist chapel for enslaved Blacks under the auspices of the Wall Street Baptist Church. The document claimed that this Black church was formed in 1854. Early enslaved members continued to maintain dual membership with the predominantly white Wall Street Baptist Church until after the Civil War. But the establishment of an all-Black congregation with its own building in Antebellum, Mississippi was particularly distinctive at the time.

The church probably derived its name from the 12-acre Rose Hill estate that was destroyed by the Union Army during the Civil War.  The former enslaved people in the area adopted the name Rose Hill for the community in its vicinity. By the end of the Civil War, Randle Pollard, a former slave, became the first minister of Rose Hill Baptist Church, and on August 8, 1870, the church was incorporated by the Mississippi State Legislature. This recognition signaled the church’s permanent separation from Wall Street Baptist Church. Pollard soon became a member of the board of trustees at Rose Hill. Twenty-three years later, in 1893, members of the Rose Hill congregation constructed a newer and more elegant building, demolishing the original 1850s-style structure. According to church records, the new building featured a bell tower that was an estimated 60 feet tall.

Rose Hill Historical Marker, June 1, 2024 (Courtesy of Roscoe Barnes III)

Rose Hill Historical Marker, June 1, 2024 (Courtesy of Roscoe Barnes III)

In 1908, trouble arose. A fire caused by a gas explosion from the nearby Natchez Drug Company completely destroyed the wood frame building and many other buildings with wood shingle roofs in the northern part of the city. With a strong commitment to rebuild their most prized spiritual, social, and political institution, parishioners built an even “grander” structure with stained-glass windows and modeled it in the late Victorian Gothic Revival style. The choice of the Gothic Revival style reflected the wide popularity of that architecture among early 20th-century African-American worshippers in Mississippi. In addition, the church installed a Moller organ in 1912 that became affiliated with the Organ Historical Society.

Today, Rose Hill Missionary Baptist Church, situated in the northern suburbs of Natchez, is a state historical landmark. The church’s interior and exterior have been well-preserved throughout numerous generations. Members have also maintained the church’s original pulpit furniture, early twentieth-century lighting fixtures, and varnished millwork. Rose Hill continues to be a beacon in the community.

About the Author

Author Profile

Quin’Nita Cobbins-Modica is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she teaches courses in African American and civil rights history.  Her teaching and research focus on the history of black women’s social activism and politics, particularly in the American West.  Her most recent article, “Let Us…Take Our Places in Public Affairs: Black Women’s Political Activism in the Pacific Northwest, 1870-1920,” explores the early political activities of western black women and the ways they wielded their electoral and political influence to help shape concepts of freedom and progressive politics in the region.  Currently, she is working on a forthcoming manuscript that examines the long history of black women’s organizing tradition, political engagement, and activism in Seattle that extended well beyond formal politics and the fight for women’s suffrage. While illuminating African American history in the Pacific Northwest, her work offers an expansive new interpretation of the symbiotic relationship between women’s activism, civil rights, and public service.

As a strong supporter of public history and the digital humanities, Cobbins-Modica works with local historical institutions and organizations and also contributes to online public-facing history projects. She is presently a participant in the Humanities Washington Speakers Bureau Program, delivering engaging lectures across urban and rural areas in Washington state and highlighting the central role black women played in the state’s civil rights movement.  She has served as a researcher and guest teaching lecturer for the Northwest African American History Museum and as a gallery exhibit reviewer, exhibition co-curator, and historical consultant for the Museum of History & Industry in Seattle. In 2017, she co-authored a book, Seattle on the Spot, that explored photographs of Black Seattle through the lens of photographer, Al Smith. She also has published articles profiling western black women activists for the Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000 digital project.

Since 2013, Cobbins-Modica has been a dedicated member of the BlackPast.org team, having worked in several capacities, including webmaster, content contributor, associate editor, and executive director.

She completed her Ph.D in History at the University of Washington with a Bachelor's degree in History from Fisk University and a Master’s degree in History from the University of Georgia.

CITE THIS ENTRY IN APA FORMAT:

Cobbins-Modica, Q. (2014, April 23). Rose Hill Missionary Baptist Church, Natchez, Mississippi (1854- ). BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/rose-hill-missionary-baptist-church-natchez-mississippi-1854/

Source of the Author's Information:

Mimi Miller, “Rose Hill Missionary Baptist Church” (Natchez: Historic
Natchez Foundation, 2014; Sherry Pace, Historic Churches of Mississippi
(Jackson: The University Press of Mississippi, 2007); Vershall Hogan,
“Walking Tours of Historic Churches Part of Conference,” The Natchez
Democrat
, Feb. 19, 2014.

Further Reading