Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Pastor Tobbie Berrian III and the congregation of Casa Bianca Missionary Baptist Church invite the community to celebrate their 151st Church Anniversary on Sunday, June 25, at the 11 a.m. service. Special guests for the occasion are Pastor Kevin L. Johnson-Mack and the St. Stephen Missionary Baptist Church of Tallahassee.
As it looks back on 151 years of ministry, the Casa Bianca Missionary Baptist Church recalls that the church was established on land formerly part of the Casa Bianca plantation by five trustees: Alfred Williams, William Maguire, Is[h]am Nelson, Anthony Robinson and Tony Robinson. Williams, Maguire and Nelson had been enslaved at the Casa Bianca plantation, which grew sugar cane and cotton. After Emancipation, many of the families enslaved at Casa Bianca remained in Jefferson County. The church's first pastor was David Straws, Sr., brother-in-law to Maguire and Nelson. Many of their descendants still attend the church.
From its beginnings to today, the church has played a significant role in revealing the histories of the African-American community connected with the Casa Bianca plantation. Over the past decade, research has revealed historic connections between descendants of individuals enslaved at Casa Bianca plantation and ancestors who were enslaved at Highland, a former plantation in Albemarle County, Virginia. This research – shared publicly on the websites “Take Them In Families” (taketheminfamilies.com) and “James Monroe Highland” (highland.org) – was instrumental in bringing about a historic reunion of these descendant groups, hosted by Casa Bianca Missionary Baptist Church in October of 2022. Then, earlier this month, a delegation from Casa Bianca traveled to Virginia for another descendants' reunion.
Casa Bianca Missionary Baptist Church is located at 1097 Waukeenah Hwy. For more information about the upcoming 151st Church Anniversary celebration, contact Mother Burnett Thompson at (850) 997-4484, (850) 545-7620 or bthompson1@admin.fsu.edu.