Augustans traveling through downtown have probably seen an old, abandoned church near 8th Street and Walton Way. It’s in an empty field and has not seen any congregants for years.

But since 1840, Trinity CME Church, also known as “Mother Trinity,” has been a major landmark for its part in Augusta’s local history and its role in Augusta’s Black community. It was spared the wrecking ball and moved in 2018 to where it stands today. Since then, the church has sat vacant and is slowly aging bit by bit.

Trinity is so old that it’s older than the CME Church itself. The church’s congregation began as an offshoot of St. John United Methodist Church in 1840, when 125 Black parishioners asked to form their own church. St. John deeded the group a parcel of land at 8th and Taylor streets, where they conducted church services under the branches of a brush arbor until building a small worship space on the property in 1843.

GreenRock Partners is dedicated to preserving this important landmark.