The
Ebenezer Baptist Church was built in 1858 by a congregation of some 400 people; it was an offshoot of the
First African Baptist Church, which experienced issues of overcrowding. It was originally named the Third African Baptist Church, but after one year the name was changed to Ebenezer Baptist Church. In 1866, Ebenezer opened the first public school for African-American children in the city of Richmond. Rev. Richard Wells was the pastor starting in 1870 and served for 24 years, under his leadership church membership reached 1,500 parishioners. Wells also served as the president of the Virginia Baptist State Convention. In 2022, Ebenezer hosted the Reconnect Jackson Ward project, a public discussion and plan to reconnect the neighborhood of Jackson Ward (in an attempt of undoing the history of building
Interstate 95 and
redlining on the community). == Notable people ==