First Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, 517 N. Oak St., is Valdosta’s oldest African American religious congregations and one of the oldest in South Georgia. This congregation was founded in 1840 as The Little River Baptist Church and is believed to be the first Missionary Baptist church in South Georgia. The group’s first church was built in 1844 and renamed Troupville Baptist Church. In 1860, the Atlantic & Gulf Railroad announced a new line four miles away in what was to become Valdosta (inc. December 7, 1860). The Troupville community began moving to the emerging town, including this congregation. Between 1916 and 1919, First Antioch Missionary Baptist Church commissioned a new building in downtown Valdosta near the railroad. The masonry is credited to master bricklayer Samuel Forrest (1874-1945), son of the founding pastor, the Reverend Elbert Forrest (1837-1922). Photo and information courtesy of the Lowndes County Historical Society and Museum. The museum is open free to the public Tuesday-Thursday 11 a.m.-4 p.m.