American Baptist Historical Society

American Baptist Historical Society Founded in 1853, ABHS holds the largest and most diverse collection of Baptist-related materials in the world.
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Our historical library holds upwards of 55,000 volumes. Browse our catalog of archival materials via our website: ABHSarchives.org Our mission is to preserve Baptist history and share its contribution to church and society. Baptist history is religious history, American history, global history. Our collection includes:

• Books and pamphlets
• Original correspondence and church records
• Periodi

cals representing the Baptist press worldwide
• State and Association minutes of many Baptist denominations and a few international bodies
• The archives of the national mission boards of the American Baptist Churches, USA (formerly the Northern Baptist Convention)
• Archives of the Baptist World Alliance
• Artifacts from missionaries
• Memorabilia from Baptist institutions (colleges, city community centers, homes, and hospitals). Our location (we consolidated our two sites Rochester, NY & Valley Forge, PA to Atlanta, GA in the fall of 2008) contains approximately 6 miles of shelving.

ABHS celebrates First Baptist Church in Milton, PA on their 200th anniversary!
08/23/2026

ABHS celebrates First Baptist Church in Milton, PA on their 200th anniversary!

Pennsylvania’s Northumberland Baptist Association took a strong stand against slavery. While many associations merge or ...
08/17/2026

Pennsylvania’s Northumberland Baptist Association took a strong stand against slavery. While many associations merge or change names, Northumberland is still in existence and has been sending ABHS their association minutes since 1822. Association minutes have a great deal of information about individual churches and their pastors.

ABHS celebrates First Baptist Gainesville in Gainesville, GA on their 200th anniversary!
08/16/2026

ABHS celebrates First Baptist Gainesville in Gainesville, GA on their 200th anniversary!

REMINDER: Deadline Approaching for Torbet Prize Submission! Each year ABHS seeks essays on Baptist history from authors...
08/15/2026

REMINDER: Deadline Approaching for Torbet Prize Submission!

Each year ABHS seeks essays on Baptist history from authors who have not already published a major scholarly work. The Research and Publication Committee of the ABHS Board of Manager serves as judges, and the winning essay is eligible for publication in an upcoming issue of the American Baptist Quarterly and its author awarded $500.

Entries should be no more than 25 double-spaced pages (excluding notes) with citations following the Chicago Manual of Style.

Send entries to [email protected]. The submission deadline for the next award is September 1, 2026.

August 13, 1808 Isaac McCoy was licensed to preach from Silver Creek Baptist Church in Indiana. McCoy became a pione...
08/13/2026

August 13, 1808 Isaac McCoy was licensed to preach from Silver Creek Baptist Church in Indiana. McCoy became a pioneer missionary to American Indians and Director of the American Indian Mission Association.

ABHS has his papers, including correspondence, an autobiography and the manuscript of History of Baptist Indian Missions. In addition, there are books and articles about McCoy in the archives.

August 8, 1789 Virginia Baptists met with President George Washington to lobby for guarantees of religious liberty. Th...
08/08/2026

August 8, 1789 Virginia Baptists met with President George Washington to lobby for guarantees of religious liberty. The Congress of the fledgling United States voted on the first version of the Bill of Rights on August 24, where the religious liberty provision was the third article.

ABHS has many statements, letters and books about the Baptists’ fight for religious liberty.

August 4, 1842 Franklin College became the first college in Indiana to admit women. Founded in 1834, it is a liberal ar...
08/04/2026

August 4, 1842 Franklin College became the first college in Indiana to admit women. Founded in 1834, it is a liberal arts college with over 1000 students, now about half women. ABHS has historic information from Franklin College statements, letters and books about the Baptists’ fight for religious liberty.

August 3, 1836 Augustus Hopkins Strong was born in Rochester, NY. He was President of Rochester Theological Seminary 187...
08/03/2026

August 3, 1836 Augustus Hopkins Strong was born in Rochester, NY. He was President of Rochester Theological Seminary 1872-1912. A noted theologian, Strong also served as a pastor in Massachusetts and Ohio.
Rochester Theological Seminary merged with Colgate Theological Seminary, then with Crozer Theological Seminary to become Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School.
ABHS has many records from all three schools and CRCDS as well as the papers of A.H. Strong, including his autobiography (4 volumes), lectures and sermons. Part of the ABHS archives were housed at CRCDS until 2008.

August 2, 1786 Stephen Gano was ordained into the ministry by his father, John, and several other pastors in the Gold St...
08/02/2026

August 2, 1786 Stephen Gano was ordained into the ministry by his father, John, and several other pastors in the Gold Street Baptist Church in New York City.
A medical doctor by profession, he had been captured at sea in the Revolutionary War, escaped from Turk’s Island where the British left him and 34 others, recaptured and repatriated in a prisoner exchange.
After his ordination he served the First Baptist Church in Providence, RI until his death in 1828. He increased the membership of the church from 165 to 647. ABHS has many articles on the life of Stephen Gano and several books on the Gano family.

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30341

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