05/30/2026
A story to pass along to you....
One of the really special moments from our Jacksonville City Cemetery Restoration Project organizational meeting last night came from learning more about our project neighbors at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church.
Located beside Section A of the historic city cemetery at 810 Church Avenue, many people in Jacksonville have driven past this beautiful old church for years without realizing the incredible history connected to it. So here we go....
Originally built in 1872, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church has been part of Jacksonville’s story for over 150 years. Members of the congregation joined us at the meeting and shared exciting news about their ongoing restoration efforts, including the discovery of the church bell hidden away in the crawl space! What a find! You can see pictures of the cleaned up bell on their web page.
Their congregation is now working to carefully preserve and restore this important historic building for future generations and to tell their story.
As we begin work preserving Jacksonville’s oldest cemetery section, it feels especially meaningful to have another historic preservation effort happening right beside us.
We encourage everyone to take a few moments to learn more about the church’s history and restoration project. If you would like to support their efforts, contributions to their restoration fund are welcomed and appreciated. Please check out their webpage in the link below.
They did mention they have a sanctuary available for weddings! (256) 644-5313
Historic Jacksonville matters and preserving these places helps tell the full story of our community.
New Hope Missionary Baptist Church Restoration Project
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Mission: To preserve the history and legacy of the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church. To collect, record, preserve and display, at a place where it all began for the public viewing, education and worshiping. The collection of photographs, and artifacts, capturing the unique history of African Ameri...