Program

Hometown Heritage®

Subject

Building, Religion

Location

801 US-13, Ahoskie, NC 27910, USA

Lat/Long

36.353299, -76.979098

Grant Recipient

Chowan Discovery Group

The Pleasant Plains Baptist Church, constructed in 1951, sits across the road from the site of the original 1851 and ca. 1870 chapels. Founded 14 years before the end of the Civil War and slavery, the church is a forerunner of many churches of color. When people of color were restricted in their worship and religious gatherings during slavery, Pleasant Plains Church led the way for the establishment of other churches in the area. Its leaders established schools and supported other schools and churches. After the church organized, the Reverand Thomas Hoggard was chosen as the first pastor and served through 1875. Unfortunately, many of the church records and documents were destroyed by a fire that burned the home of the church clerk on December 24, 1941. (Historical Sketch of the Pleasant Plains Baptist Church, 1951)

Of note is the Reverand Dr. Calvin Scott Brown who served as pastor from 1885 until 1911. Dr. Brown was born in Salisbury, NC in 1859. He attended the Freedman’s Aid Society School, and then went on to attend Shaw University, graduating in 1886 as valedictorian. At the direction of the president of Shaw University, he moved to Winton to become Pastor of Pleasant Plains Baptist Church. Upon his arrival, Brown established Chowan Academy, a private African American school, which later became the Water’s Academy and subsequently the C. S. Brown School in 1943. The school joined the Hertford County school system in 1924 as the only African American High School in the county. While many private African American schools closed, Brown’s fundraising abilities and his wife’s inheritance allowed the school to remain open before becoming part of the local public school system. In addition to being principal until his death in 1936, Brown and his wife Amaza both served as teachers. (NCpedia.org, Calvin Scott Brown. Accessed 25 Feb 2025)