[1] The American Baptist Historical Society was created in 1853 at the instigation of John Mason Peck.
[1] In 1862, it was chartered under the laws of Pennsylvania and housed in the offices of the American Baptist Publication Society, located in Philadelphia .
[1] That same year, the news of the fire (and the subsequent call for replacement materials) caused Samuel Colgate, a prominent New York businessman and Baptist layman, to give his personal collection of Baptist materials to Colgate University in Hamilton, NY for preservation.
[1] Then in 1984, ABHS moved its offices and the official archives of the American Baptist Churches USA.
[1] In 2008, ABHS consolidated its two locations and its collections and offices are now housed on Mercer University's Atlanta, GA, campus.