Ebenezer Baptist Church, Portsmouth

This postcard shows Portsmouth’s Ebenezer Baptist Church as it appeared around 1940. The church first came into being shortly after the Civil War as First Colored Baptist Church. The congregants changed the name to Ebenezer Baptist Church in 1868, while still meeting in a blacksmith’s shop. In 1894, after years of fundraising, the trustees of Ebenezer Baptist constructed a brick church on Effingham Street. In 1931 architect Harvey N. Johnson became pastor of the church. As the youngest person to hold the position, his congregants dubbed him “Ebenezer’s Baby.” Under Johnson, the church underwent major structural renovations, and he funded the addition of the two-story brick annex which is visible in this postcard.