Historic Markers

Two state historical markers issued by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources will be dedicated in Bristol – one marker will highlight Dr. Charles Spurgeon Johnson and the other will highlight Lee Street Baptist Church.Dr. Charles Spurgeon Johnson was a Bristol-native and a scholar of race relations and major contributor to the Black cultural movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. Lee Street Baptist Church was established by recently emancipated African Americans in 1865. A public ceremony will be on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Cumberland Square Park, where the signs are installed on the park’s east side, facing Lee Street.