Our Story

The First Baptist Church of Bridgehampton’s roots go back to 1922; by 1924 it was the first organized black Baptist church on the South Fork. Revival meetings were held in local homes at the time, and afterward the Rev. H.D. Robert Strotter of New York City would baptize candidates who professed the faith in Sag Harbor Bay. In 1926 two early founders of the church, Deacon Demus and Mary Dean, bought for the congregation the old firehouse on Corwith Avenue, which for 55 years was the home to Bridgehampton’s Baptist faithful. (The building is now home to the Dan Flavin Art Institute.)