Burke County freedmen organized Haven Academy in 1868 and after operating the school and church in a more utilitarian structure for 20 years, completed the present church building in 1891. It’s an important example of early formal architecture in the Georgia African-American community.
Despite the positive attention brought to it by a National Register designation in 1996, it remains highly endangered.
UPDATE: At 2:00 yesterday (16 September 2017) Sarah Barber sent me a message that this church was on fire. Rob White confirms: This Waynesboro icon burned and was completely destroyed on September 16, 2017. There are now only 2 sites in Waynesboro on the National Historic Register. I was very concerned about the future of this structure the last time I saw it and now the worst possible end has come to it. The Augusta Chronicle reports that it was a case of arson.
Waynesboro Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This Waynesboro icon burned and was completely destroyed on September 16, 2017. There are now only 2 sites in Waynesboro on the National Historic Register.
So beautiful