Located on a dirt road, the Jones Chapel and cemetery sit across the road from each other. At the moment, I am unable to locate any history on the church. The building was built around 1900. The cemetery is somewhat active with a few fairly recent burials. I will update once I know more.
Mr. Newman Jackson, 1910-1995
Two headstones featured these pinpricks as ways to engrave the headstones.
T. L. Jackson, 1980-1980Mattie Jones, 1907-1908Bidy Ann Talington, 1907-1908Lola Roberson, 1904-1999Little Sandra Leann
I will always document any Eldren Bailey marker that I find.
The well-cleaned skeleton of a cow greeted me as I walked a path around the lake.
At one time, there was a school associated with the congregation. Photo courtesy of Digital Library of Georgia.
There’s not much I could locate on Beech Grove AME Church. The cemetery is quite small, with only a handful of headstones. The last obituary I could locate was from 2004.
I am not certain what this small building is. After locating photos of the Beech Grove School on the eDigital Library of Georgia’s website, I am leaning toward a detached preacher’s office.
The Beech Grove School could have been a Rosenwald School. I hope that when I learn more about the church, I can locate the school’s history, too.
Located just off downtown Siloam in Greene County, Georgia, is the St. Paul AME Church. This church was in horrible shape, and it’s clear there has been work to stabilize the structure. At one point, a sign said, “The Church that Would Not Die” above the door. It’s been gone for a few years, but those words are coming true.
There isn’t much known about the church. The building is early 1900s. I would not be surprised if they were an early freedmen’s church
The First Baptist Church of Huntsville is home to a fantastic mosaic officially titled “Cosmic Christ.” Still, it is colloquially known as “Eggbeater Jesus” because the bottom part of Jesus’s body resembles a whisk. The mosaic was inspired by Huntsville being the home of NASA’s Marshall Space Center and the United States Space and Rocket Center, and by a Bible passage that referred to a ‘cosmic christ.’ Glass artist Gordon William Smith designed it in 1966, and the mosaic was installed in 1973. It cost $115,000 to complete. It took over 14 million pieces to make the mosaic.
Over the years, the mosaic began to deteriorate, and it was decided to restore it in 2016. The restoration lasted until 2022. It took 4.3 million blown glass tiles to restore. The church continues to use the original tiles in art projects.
In addition to the “Eggbeater Jesus,” the church is noted for its 229-foot steeple made by Campbellsville Industries, a company based in Kentucky. Known as the “God Rocket.” it is the largest premade steeple in the world.
The combination of the tower and the mosaic makes for an incredible piece of public art that you can see on Governor’s Drive. If you are ever in Huntsville, it is a must-see. If you are able, try to visit it at night when the mosaic is lit up.
Located outside of Collinsville, Alabama is the Smith Chapel and Cemetery. I have not been able to find any history on the church. According to FindAGrave, the oldest burial is 1857. The cemetery is still active.
The congregation of Collinsville Presbyterian Church began in 1904. Soon after they were organized, they purchased a building that was 2/3rds a Methodist church and 1/3 of the building belonging to the Van Buren Lodge No. 355 F. & A. M. The Gothic Revival Church was built in the 1890s and was relocated to its current site in Collinsville in 1908. The church is still active.
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