Virginia Department of Historic Resources
(dhr.virginia.gov)
For Immediate Release
January 2026
Contact:
Ivy Tan
Department of Historic Resources
Marketing & Communications Manager
ivy.tan@dhr.virginia.gov
804-482-6445
—Dr. King spoke at Mount Level Baptist Church in the spring of 1962 during a “People to People” tour of communities in southern Virginia—
—Text of marker reproduced below—
PLEASE NOTE: DHR creates markers not to “honor” their subjects but rather to educate and inform the public about a person, place, or event of regional, state, or national importance. In this regard, erected markers are not memorials.
RICHMOND – The Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) has announced that a state historical marker approved by the Virginia Board of Historic Resources will be dedicated early next week recalling the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s visit in 1962 to Mount Level Baptist Church in Dinwiddie County.
The marker dedication ceremony will be held Monday, January 19, starting at 10 a.m., at Mount Level Baptist Church on 14920 Courthouse Road in Dinwiddie (23841). Parking will be available for guests in the parking lot adjacent to the church. This event is free and open to members of the public.
The ceremony will feature a number of speakers including Jennifer McClellan, U.S. Representative for Virginia’s 4th District. DHR Deputy Director of Preservation Programs Roger Kirchen will speak on behalf of the Department and Pastor Michael A. Spragley, of Mount Level Baptist Church, will give the commemorative address.
On March 28, 1962, during a “People to People” tour of communities in southern Virginia, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at Mount Level Baptist Church in Dinwiddie County. Making stops between Hopewell and Lynchburg, King and other officials of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference addressed crowds and went door-to-door to encourage voter registration and to recruit civil rights workers. King’s visit to Mount Level was planned by his chief of staff, the Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker, who was a former pastor of the church. At Mount Level, King spoke to a full house of people about the importance of voting as a pathway to equality and justice for all. He also visited Dinwiddie County’s Rocky Branch community.
The Virginia Board of Historic Resources, which is authorized to designate new state historical markers, approved the manufacture and installation of the Dr. King at Mount Level Baptist Church historical marker in March 2025. The manufacturing cost of the marker was covered by its sponsor, the Dinwiddie County Board of Supervisors.
Virginia’s historical highway marker program began in 1927 with installation of the first markers along U.S. Route 1. It is considered the oldest such program in the nation. Currently there are more than 2,600 state markers, mostly maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation, except in those localities outside of VDOT’s authority.
Full Text of Marker:
Dr. King at Mount Level Baptist Church
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at Mount Level Baptist Church on 28 March 1962 during a “People to People” tour of communities in southern Virginia. King and other officials of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference made stops between Hopewell and Lynchburg, addressing crowds and going door-to-door to encourage voter registration and to recruit civil rights workers. The Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker, King’s chief of staff and a former pastor of Mount Level, planned the visit to this church, where King spoke to a full house about the importance of voting as a pathway to equality and justice for all. King also made a stop in the Rocky Branch community of Dinwiddie County.
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