A new group has formed to preserve, restore and celebrate the history of Alexander Hill Baptist Church in Buckingham — the oldest and first African-American church in the county.

A Buckingham Circuit Court judge recently appointed Joseph Scruggs, Mary E. Brown Shelton and Martha Pennington Louis as trustees of the church, which hasn’t held services in years and is in poor condition.

“We’re in the very beginnings of things,” Scruggs said of restoring the church on Jerusalem Church Road near Glenmore. “The one big hurdle we got over, of course, when the courts (agreed) to appoint the trustees. So that was a big plus for us because that now says that there is someone who can speak on behalf of the property.”

Because African-Americans weren’t allowed to worship with whites, members of the Alexander Hill community prayed, sang hymns and worshipped under a brush arbor, consisting of logs for seating under brush, leaves, twigs and sticks, which allowed for protection from the heat of the sun and other elements. Instead of a pulpit, they had a mound of dirt with a makeshift log lectern. Slaves and freemen worshiped there before constructing the first church on land that would later be deeded to them by their owner, Alexander Moseley, in 1867, resulting in the formation of the historic Alexander Hill community.

Scruggs said the designation of the trustees by the court “moves us to the next phase of being able to begin the process of applying to the state to get the designation of a historical site, and then also opens up the door for us to be able to apply for grant money to begin the restoration process.”

“She was baptized there,” Louis said of Shelton, who is a former member of Alexander Hill Baptist Church. “We are going to try to winterize the church and do some roof repairs, things like that, what we can do.”

“We’re hoping that we can get (the) community and other churches to kind of come in and help us out with some contributions,” Scruggs said of raising funds for repair work in months ahead.

Scruggs said the first priority was stopping any leaking “so that the building doesn’t get into any worse condition.”

“I’m just thrilled. I’m just very happy about that,” Shelton said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for others to learn about the history of the church.”

Her new role as trustee has already given her a new perspective on the history of the church — one that she was raised in.

“It will be a legacy, like, for others to observe,” Shelton said.

Funding for the church restoration and preservation would be funneled through Historic Buckingham Inc., of which Louis serves as president.

“It’s fairly poor,” Louis said of the church’s condition. “It’s standing, but there’s … water damage.”

She said the group wants to apply to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources to name the church to the state’s historic register.

Some long-term goals of the trustees, Louis said, include building a period-style pavilion behind the church, rebuilding the brush arbor, sharing the storied past of the church and property and opening the grounds for tours.

Trustees are planning a re-enactment of a brush arbor service for April, which will serve as a fundraiser for restoration efforts.

“We feel that it’s a critical part of African-American history,” Louis said in a previous interview about the church and brush arbor site. “We feel it’s too important to let die. We feel like the best way to keep it alive is to celebrate this history.”

According to Buckingham historian and author Charles White, at one point, more than 500 blacks in Buckingham were members of Alexander Hill Baptist Church, many residing in the Warminster area of the county.

“Alexander Moseley felt that they needed a place for a church,” White noted, adding as years passed, three churches would eventually spawn from Alexander Hill Baptist: Salem Baptist, Jerusalem Baptist and Warminster Baptist.

For more information on efforts to restore the church, contact Louis at (434) 547-2296 or email marthalouis60@gmail.com.