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Rebuilding one of the nation's oldest Black churches to begin at Juneteenth ceremony

Associated Press

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This image provided by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation shows the 2021 excavation of the original First Baptist Church of Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Va. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation via AP)
Casket-shaped stones mark the 62 graves identified at the original site of the First Baptist Church of Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Va., on May 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)
FILE - From left, Reginald F. Davis, pastor of First Baptist Church, Connie Matthews Harshaw, a member of First Baptist, and Jack Gary, Colonial Williamsburg's director of archaeology, stand at the brick-and-mortar foundation of one the oldest Black churches in the U.S. on Oct. 6, 2021, in Williamsburg, Va. (AP Photo/Ben Finley, File)
This image provided by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation shows the 2021 excavation of the original First Baptist Church of Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Va. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation via AP)
This rendering provided by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in June 2025, shows an artist's rendition of the original 1805 First Baptist Church of Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Va. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation via AP)
A hand-forged hasp and wooden dowel guard the entrance to the burial ground at the First Baptist Church of Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Va., on May 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)
A casket-shaped stone marks an infant's grave at the original site of the First Baptist Church of Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Va., on May 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)
This photo provided by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation shows the rebuilt First Baptist Church of Williamsburg, taken in the 1930s, in Williamsburg, Va. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation via AP)

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This image provided by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation shows the 2021 excavation of the original First Baptist Church of Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Va. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation via AP)