“I don’t mean to insult anybody’s town, but Savannah is absolutely the most beautiful town in America. There’s no question in my mind, I’ve been everywhere, and the most beautiful town in America is Savannah, Georgia.” 

—John Mellencamp 

The First African Baptist Church 

The First African Baptist Church is the most notable historic structure located on Savannah’s Franklin Square. Along with the Ward it sits in, the Square was named in 1791 after Founding Father Benjamin Franklyn, who served as Georgia’s agent in London before the American Revolutionary War.  

A chronology of its congregation is among the most storied in American history. 

The story begins with George Liele, a slave born in Virginia in 1750. Moved to a Georgia plantation at the age of twenty-three, George Liele converted to Christianity in the church of Henry Sharpe, his owner.  

Mr. Sharpe, a Baptist deacon, then freed George to pursue his new calling to spread the Gospel. Liele preached for the next couple of years to the slaves living on plantations that surrounded the city and along the Savannah River, to include plantations sitting across the water in South Carolina. 

In 1775, George Liele became the first ordained African American Baptist preacher in America. But soon, the American Revolution interrupted everyone’s plans. First, in 1778, Henry Sharpe was killed in the war. Enjoined by about one-third of Georgia’s population, Sharpe had sided with the English King. 

After his death, Sharpe’s heirs tried to re-enslave Liele. But with the support of a British military officer named Moses Kirkland, Liele and his family managed to immigrate in 1784 to Kingston, Jamaica. In his new British Colony, Liele would face more difficulties but ultimately continued his work as an evangelist. 

Before escaping America for Jamaica, Liele had converted Andrew Bryan. It was Bryan who organized the First Colored Baptist Church; renamed the First African Baptist Church in 1822. 

Constructed between 1859 and 1861, the current First African Baptist Church building is primarily made of Savannah Grey bricks that were handmade by congregants themselves. The stained-glass windows are the building’s most magnificent feature. Some of its original pews are on display during tours. 

During the Civil War, the church was part of the Underground Railroad system that assisted escaping slaves. Hundreds of slaves were hidden beneath church floorboards, and then made their way through underground tunnels that led to boats waiting to transport them down the Savannah River to freedom. 

The church also played a vital role during the Civil Rights Era. The Reverend Ralph Mark Gilbert was its senior minister from 1939 to 1956. His pioneering NAACP accomplishments are on display at the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum, located on Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard here in Savannah. 

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer and songwriter John Mellencamp’s connection to the First African Baptist Church in downtown Savannah came when he recorded several songs on his No Better Than This (2010) album using a single microphone, performing in the beautiful sanctuary of this historic church. 

And, while working on the album, Mellencamp was baptized in the First African Baptist Church.