From Discover Richmond ...

Ebenezer Baptist was the third African-American Baptist church formed in Richmond in 1856. Public education for African-Americans began at Ebenezer. Hartshorn Memorial College, created to educate women to become teachers, was organized at the church in 1883. It became part of Virginia Union University in 1932.

The original church building assumed a Gothic style in 1873 with the addition of a tall spire. In 1911, the spire was removed and the current portico was added, according to church history.