For more than 160 years, First Baptist Church has stood as a cornerstone of faith and community in Mathews County. Founded by formerly enslaved worshippers seeking a place to worship freely, the church’s story reflects both the struggles and triumphs of African American history on Virginia’s Middle Peninsula. “Our foundation was built on faith in God,” said Shirley Cooke, church clerk and deacon at First Baptist Church. “No matter what happened, the people never gave up on the church.” According to church records, the roots of First Baptist Church began before 1864, when black worshippers attended services in the balcony of the Old Baptist Church, now Mathews Baptist Church at Hudgins. Between 1863 and 1864, black members were encouraged to establish a congregation of their own. In 1864, First Baptist Church officially organized and began worshipping in a log cabin at Pugh’s Thicket. Later that year, 291 black members received letters of dismissal (permission to leave) from the Old Bap...