Alexander Memorial Baptist Church

Alexander Memorial Baptist Church is a Baptist congregation located at 10675 Crain Highway in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, US. The congregation was founded in 1908 after a group of members left First Baptist Church in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was named in honor of the founder of First Baptist Church, Reverend Sandy Alexander, who was a formerly enslaved person. For over 100 years, the congregation met in a building located on N Street NW in an area of Georgetown called Herring Hill, which was a 15-block enclave for around 1,000 African Americans families. Alexander Memorial Baptist Church was one of five black churches established in the area. The congregation purchased a lot, including the former home of astronomer Asaph Hall, and built a sanctuary adjoining the residence. The cornerstone was laid in 1909. The neighborhood's demographics began changing dramatically in the 1930s due to gentrification and discriminatory legislation targeting African Americans. By the 1980s, half of the congregation's active members no longer lived in Georgetown. In 2013 the pastor and congregation chose to sell the property and relocate to suburban Maryland, where many members lived. They have met in their current church building in Upper Marlboro since 2016. The former sanctuary and Hall's former house in Georgetown were sold for around $7.5 million and converted into luxury residences by a real estate developer. The sanctuary was converted into three condominiums listed at approximately $2–2.5 million each. The adjoining building was converted into a 5,250 square feet (488 m2) residence with a listing price of almost $6.8 million.

During the 1800s the far eastern section of Georgetown developed into an enclave for African Americans, although freedmen and slaves had lived throughout the area of what was then the City of Georgetown. The 15-block enclave was known as Herring Hill, an area roughly bounded by P Street NW on the north, 29th Street NW on the west, M Street NW on the south, and Rock Creek Park on the east. The origin of the Herring Hill name was the fish once caught in Rock Creek that was a food supply for African American residents, who would eventually number around 1,000 families. In addition to homes and businesses primarily owned by African Americans, there were also black churches established in Herring Hill. These included Mount Zion United Methodist Church, founded in 1814; First Baptist Church, founded in 1862; Jerusalem Baptist Church, founded in 1870; and Epiphany Catholic Church, founded in 1923. Alexander Memorial Baptist Church was founded on July 26, 1908, by 84 members of First Baptist Church who left the latter due to their disapproval of a new pastor. The church was named after the founder of First Baptist Church, Reverend Sandy Alexander, a formerly enslaved person. The new congregation was organized by Reverend W. Bishop Carroll, pastor of Second Baptist Church, with assistance from Reverend W.B. Gibbons of Mount Carmel Baptist Church and Reverend Sheldon Miller of First Baptist Church of Brightwood. The congregation first met in the home of Mary Lee at 1002 26th Street NW and then moved to the Odd Fellows Hall at 28th Street and Dumbarton Street NW.

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