2025 SESSION
ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 200
Commending Mill Swamp Baptist Church.
Agreed to by the Senate, January 16, 2025
WHEREAS, Mill Swamp Baptist Church of Isle of Wight County, one of the oldest Baptist congregations in the Commonwealth, celebrated its 250th anniversary on September 22, 2024; and
WHEREAS, the origins of Mill Swamp Baptist Church date to 1714, when the Reverend Robert Norton from England established the Burleigh Baptist Church in Isle of Wight County; and
WHEREAS, after many congregants at Burleigh Baptist Church joined the Reverend Paul Palmer, founder of the Free Will Baptist movement in North Carolina, those remaining disbanded Burleigh Baptist Church and reorganized as Mill Swamp Baptist Church in 1774; and
WHEREAS, Mill Swamp Baptist Church was named for the local Mill Swamp creek, where congregants were baptized in the church's early years; and
WHEREAS, Mill Swamp Baptist Church grew to nearly 300 members within its first 15 years and has continued to thrive since that time; and
WHEREAS, Mill Swamp Baptist Church's current building, constructed around 1929 following a fire, is believed to be the fourth church building to be located on Mill Swamp Baptist Church's property; and
WHEREAS, Mill Swamp Baptist Church's congregation today includes descendants of the church's founding families, including the Hollomans, Gwaltneys, and Cofers; and
WHEREAS, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mill Swamp Baptist Church overcame extraordinary circumstances to reach its congregation, broadcasting its services over the radio from the church's portico to members who would tune in from their cars in the church parking lot; and
WHEREAS, for 250 years, Mill Swamp Baptist Church has provided its congregants with uplifting spiritual guidance, joyful occasions for worship and fellowship, and abundant opportunities for charity and outreach, making it an integral and cherished part of the Isle of Wight County community; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate of Virginia, That Mill Swamp Baptist Church hereby be commended on the occasion of its 250th anniversary; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Mill Swamp Baptist Church as an expression of the Senate of Virginia's high regard for the church's history and its contributions to the Commonwealth.