Reuben Ford and Hopeful Baptist Church
Hopeful Meeting House began services under the ministry of Baptist pastor Reuben Ford in 1807. Ford played an important role in the post-Revolutionary struggle for religious freedom. In the 1780s, he lobbied the Virginia General Assembly on behalf of Virginia's Baptists, opposing the incorporation of the Episcopal Church and state support for “teachers of the Christian Religion.” Ford though his leadership resolved doctrinal controversies and promoted Baptist churches as patriotic alternatives to the Episcopal Church. In July 1843, John Hope deeded five acres of land for the present sanctuary, dedicated on 21 May 1845. Enslaved African Americans made the bricks from nearby clay.
Marker is at the intersection of Taylors Creek Road (Virginia Route 610) and Hopeful Church Road (Virginia Route 664), on the right when traveling west on Taylors Creek Road.
Courtesy hmdb.org
