Central Baptist Church, located in Church Road, Dinwiddie County, VA, had its beginning nearly two centuries ago, several miles from its present location.

In 1829, William Hyde of Petersburg set up residence in Dinwiddie County, about four miles north of Church Road on property opposite Whipponock Farm. At his home, he established a Sunday School and opened a prayer meeting. It is believed he was the only Baptist in the community at the time. In this prayer meeting, four men were converted. One of these was Hosia Crowder. These men were baptized by Edmond Goode, Pastor of Zoar Church in Chesterfield County.

 On August 24, 1832, with a total of eight persons, a church was organized by James M. Jeter and Joseph S. Baker. The church was called Mount Pleasant.

1880’s & 1890’s

In 1833, William Hyde was elected pastor. He served in this capacity for about 10 years and continued to preach seated after he became too feeble to stand. William Hyde died in 1845 when he was perhaps 85 years of age. On September 30, 1843, Hosia Crowder was ordained and elected pastor. He served as pastor until the Fall of 1853. In August, 1854, Joseph H. Freeman became pastor. On June 15 1856, Hosia Crowder was reelected Pastor and with the exception of one year, 1867, served as pastor until the winter 1874.

 During this time, a small group of Baptists started preaching services at a location five miles south of Church Road at a point known as Center Star. The Center Star location may be identified at present as the intersection of State Route 611 and 645. This group called themselves the Central Baptist Church. Central had very few members, no pastor, and was not able to employ one. Mount Pleasant had a fairly good membership and a pastor, but no church building.

In 1873, Central Baptist and Mount Pleasant united and moved to Church Road, the present location, and adopted the name of Central Baptist Church. Old Central gave their building and the members of Mount Pleasant moved it to Church Road. Thus, our present Central Baptist Church had its beginning 144 years ago.

In 1875, Dr. T. W. Syndor was called as pastor and served the church until his death in 1880. Dr. Syndor possessed rare Christian leadership qualities and was pastor of several churches in addition to Central. Worship service probably was not held more than once a month, but there was increase in membership and records show membership in 1880 to be 36. From July 1890 until February 15, 1891 the church was supplied by students from Richmond College. These included W. T. Creath, grandfather of William F. Creath, R. L. Gay and Jack Ryland.

On February 15, 1891, Reverend Roote of Lexington, Virginia was called as pastor. He was greatly loved by his people. He left the field at the close of 1894.

In 1893, the church building was rebuilt and a portion of the framework of this building is a part of the present structure.

In 1895, James L. Clay moved his wife, three sons, and three daughters from North Carolina to Dinwiddie County. This family and descendants have played a major role in central over the years. Mr. Clay, all three sons and three grandsons became deacons. In 1895, Reverend E. R. Nelson, a native of Columbus, Georgia and recent graduate of Richmond College was called to replace Mr. Roote. He was ordained at Central in June of that year and served as Pastor until the close of 1899.

1900’s

Reverent R. L. Gay, who supplied when he was a student at Richmond college, became the pastor in the spring of 1900, and stayed until November 1903. Mr. Gay did much to build up the church and membership in 1900 grew to 52. The church continued to grow during the period, and records show membership in 1910 was 77.

In 1910, the pastor’s salary for seven months was $145.84.

 On January 1, 1911, Rev. H. M. Martins came as pastor and served one year.

In 1913, Mr. Martins was followed to the pastorate by Reverend W. Y. Yeamans. Mr. Yeamans was not married and boarded at the J.L. Clay home. Yeamans took on the task of leadership in building a parsonage, and requested each family in the church plant an extra acre of tobacco to finance the building of the parsonage.

The parsonage was built about 1/2 mile south of Church Road on land donated by Mr. "Mack" Talley. The building was later purchased from the church and is now the D.L. Maitland home.

Minutes in 1925 indicate that Central, Smyrna, Sharon and Cutbank were combined and being served by one pastor. The purpose of coming back together was to be able to pay the pastor a better salary as all four churches were poorly financed. The State Mission Board had been supplementing the pastor salary and had notified the churches that the supplement would be reduced.

1920’s

Economic conditions during the first half of the 1920's were not good and were especially bad in rural communities that depended on farming. The minutes during this period are full of the financial difficulties encountered. There were regular reports from committees that had been appointed to attempt to collect pledges, some of which ran as low as five cents per week.

On January 1, 1927 the committee from the four churches notified the State Mission Board that no further help would be needed. On August 21, Mr. J. B. Olgers was ordained a deacon. The old 1893 building was still being used with little to no modifications and discussions were being held on making a major remodeling job.

In April 1928, a committee was elected to see about starting a building fund. This committee was composed of Mr. F. Talley, Mr. I. B. Chandler, Mr. Clyde Sutherland, Mr. F. K. Clay, Mr. F. P. Clay, Mr. W.S. Farrar, Mr. John Williams, Mrs. W.S. Farrar, Mrs. F. K. Clay, Mrs. J. B. Olgers and Mrs. R.H. Barker. With the Depression coming in, it was several years before the project was done.

1930’s & 1940’s

Mr. Wagstaff came to the field in 1931 and filled the pulpit until 1942; he was one of Central’s most beloved pastor’s. It was during Mr. Wagstaff‘s pastorate, December 1936, that Ernest Everett, a member of Central, was ordained a minister. Rev. Avery is the only one sent out from Central congregation into the ministry. Also during the ministry of Rev. Wagstaff, the church building remodeling finally took place. Plans were formulated to improve the church building by the addition of Sunday school rooms and remodeling the church interior.

The new church building was dedicated October 31, 1937.

On December 21, 1941 Mr. Wagstaff resigned after 10 years and seven months as pastor of the Dinwiddie County field of churches. Membership in 1940 was recorded as 143 with approximately 100 resident numbers.

The Dinwiddie field of Central, Smyrna, Cutbank and Sharon was divided in August 1951 with Central and Smyrna together. Since the first parsonage was purchased by Mary Maitland in 1948, a new parsonage closer to the church became a necessity. A building committee of J. L. Williams, F. K. Clay and Scott Bennett reported the parsonage complete in August 1952.

1950’s, 1960’s, & 1970’s

In 1955, a building committee composed of George Bennett, R. V. Robertson, Ballard Phillips, Lelon Rowland, Mrs. John Williams, and John Houghton was appointed to select plans and supervise the expansion of the church building.

In 1959, Robert L. Morris was called as pastor in July 1959 and served until November 1961. Membership at this time was reported at 212 with 154 resident members. In 1962, Rev. Cecil Gholston was called to be pastor. On November 27, 1963, Mr. Gholston resigned the pastorate of the Central-Smyrna field and accepted a call as full-time pastor at Central. Thus, after 90 years as a member of a field of churches, Central became a full-time church.

Let it be noted that prior to 1973, the history of Central is recorded in the Centennial Booklet and that the minutes are stored with the Historical Society in Richmond.

In 1973, Reverend Kenneth Huneycutt became pastor.

In 1976, Board of Trustees consisted of W. F. Creath, George Bennett and James Clay.

In 1978, Rev. Kenneth Huneycutt resigned as pastor. Central called Rev. Wiley Wallace as pastor in December.

1980’s & 1990’s

In 1983, Rev. Wallace resigned from Central in October to become pastor of Mineral Baptist Church in Mineral, Virginia.

In 1984, Rev. David Angel was called to be pastor of Central. He started on April 15, 1984. In 1987, W. F. Creath resigned from Board of Trustees, and Giles Mayhew was appointed.

In 1988, a building committee was established to discuss expansion. They met with an architect who recommended an extension at the back of the church to include eight classrooms, two bathrooms and a new fellowship hall. A rough estimate of the floorplans was $150,000. David Angel suggested a fundraising campaign to raise at least half of the need money before beginning the new building.

Also this year, Mildred Green resigned as the church clerk after 30 years and Florence Clay took over. In 1989, the church voted to borrow $75,000 for the building fund if needed. In October, progress was being made on the new addition and Thanksgiving dinner was being planned to be held in the new fellowship hall. The addition was completed that Fall for a cost of $119,562 due to the dedication and hard work of the members of Central who did so much themselves.

The church owed $12,022 to the Bank of McKenney.

In 1991, the church voted 65 to 12 to allow women to be elected to the board of deacons. 1993- Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Creath gave Central land to enlarge the parking space. The parking lot work was finished in April. Central purchased their first van for $15,000. $10,000 of that was given by an anonymous donor.

In 1997, a new organ was given in memory of Christine Underwood by her family. Crater View Baptist Church received our old organ. In 1998, the deacons proposed for a part-time church secretary to be hired. A computer system, software and furniture were purchased for the secretary.

2000’s & the Present

In 2001, Rev. David Angel retired from Central in December after serving the church for 17 years. The fellowship hall was dedicated in honor of David and Susan Angel and a bronze plaque was mounted with the following message: "The Angel Wing- dedicated to David and Susan Angel for their devotion and service 1984-2001"

In 2002, the church voted to call Reverend Thomas Collins as pastor of Central Baptist Church. Since Rev. Collins did not wish to live in the parsonage, it was decided to use the parsonage as church offices.

In 2004, new brass chandeliers were installed in the sanctuary. The lights were funded by private donations at a total cost of $3,844. A plaque was mounted in the front entrance hall with the names of who contributed and whom the light was given in memory or honor of.

In 2005, due to the death of George Bennett, Horace Henshaw was nominated to serve as a trustee.

In 2006, Rev. Thomas Collins offered his resignation as pastor. Rev. Bob Smith became interim pastor in July.

In 2007, due to the death of Giles Mayhew, James Hudson was nominated to be a trustee. Construction was done to enlarge the area at the landing of the stairwell leading to the upstairs classrooms by removing a wall.

In 2008, the church voted to have Jonathan Waits as pastor to start in August. The church office was moved back to the church building and an office was made for the pastor. The parsonage was repaired and painted for the Waits family.

In 2017, Rev. Jonathan Waits resigned as pastor.

In 2019, Rev. Jacob Drake was called as pastor. He and his family moved into the parsonage at Central Baptist on May 22, 2019.

Conclusion

With this, we give you the story, in brief, of the first 148 years of Central Baptist Church and some of the people who have been involved. In addition to service to this community, the church has sent out many young people who have gone into other communities and made their mark as Christian leaders in other churches. With God's help, we, the members of Central Baptist Church face the future, confident that this church will continue to be a force for good and represent our Christ in the community.