About this property
Shiloh Baptist Church (also known as Trinity School House) is a historic former school building and former African American Baptist church in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. In February 1799, the wardens and vestry of Trinity Church voted to build a school house. The funds were provided by a bequest by Nathaniel Kay. The resulting rectangular Georgian structure was 40 feet long and 25 feet wide. It was said that "many of the leading citizens of Newport attended school in this house." The school continued operation until 1867 when the building was purchased by the Shiloh Baptist congregation. The Shiloh Church was an African American Baptist congregation founded on May 10, 1864, by Edmund Kelly in a house at 73 Levin Street owned by Esther Brinley. William James Barnett was installed as the first pastor, followed shortly by Theodore Valentine. The congregation met for five years in the Seventh Day Baptist Church, on Barney Street near Spring Street, but desired their own permanent location. In 1868 the members of Shiloh Church purchased the school building on the corner of School and Mary streets from the Trinity Church corporation, at a cost of $2,000." The congregation moved into their new home on February 24, 1869, to a dedicatory sermon preached by Rev. Samuel Adlam. The cost of the church was raised from members over the next fourteen months. Henry N. Jeter served as pastor of the Shiloh Baptist Church for 25 years, starting in 1875. Jeter established a written constitution and expanded the choir. He was known for "diligently uniting the people despite obstacles." The building was renovated in 1873, at a cost of $1,600. An annex was built on the south side of the church in 1884, to house the parish hall. In 1897 the church remodeled the entrance and replaced the glass in the arched windows with stained glass. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, at which time it was still owned by the Shiloh Baptist Society. By 2020, it was operating as a bed and breakfast. National Register of Historic Places listings in Newport County, Rhode Island Pastor Henry N. Jeter's Twenty-five Years Experiencewith the Shiloh Baptist Church and Her History. Corner School and Mary Streets, Newport, R. I.:Electronic Edition. (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Documenting the American South) (accessed Sept. 9, 2010)
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Shiloh Church
This page lists Shiloh Church. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Shiloh Church listed on the National Register?
Shiloh Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 11, 1971.
What type of historic resource is Shiloh Church?
Shiloh Church is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Shiloh Church?
The period of significance for Shiloh Church is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Shiloh Church?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Shiloh Church will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Newport County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Newport County.
Explore NewportCounty ›More historic places in Rhode Island
Browse all historic places in Rhode Island.
View Rhode Islandhistoric sites ›Rhode Island history
Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.
Rhode Islandhistory ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Shiloh Church will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.