"Father Dempsey gathered three blacks, one of whom was a slave, and allowed them to sit in the local all-white church's balcony.
Black membership quickly grew, and on July 22, 1848 Benjamin Ammen suggested that an African Church be formulated in Fincastle.
After the Civil War ended, the following freemen acted as trustees for the new African Baptist Church: Rev.
In addition to the services of the Captain Charles S. Schaffer, a Baptist missionary from the north, and donations given by the nearly penniless ex-slaves, the church construction began.
[5] In 2017, the grave of Private Pleasant Richardson was decorated by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War in a Memorial Day observance.