Located in a remote part of Camden County, Georgia, the Oak Grove Baptist Church was consecrated in 1891. Early families were the Drurys, Beasleys, and Linkers.
Oak Grove Baptist Church-Camden County, Georgia
Oak Hill United Methodist Church-Rains Landing, Georgia
This church’s cemetery contains two of the Madonna figures that my friend and I found on a road trip through Camden County. The can trace its roots to the years before the Civil War. The current church buildings were in the last few decades.
The Madonna figures can be seen as a collective here.
Spring Hill Missionary Baptist Church-Camden County, Georgia
Camden County
Clinch Chapel Methodist Church-Camden County, Georgia
This church traces its roots to right after the Civil War. The first church was built in 1896. The current structure was built in 1992.
This cemetery features a mixture of headstones. Many contain concrete markers with applique cherubs and hands. One of the more intriguing markers is the Madonna bust which can be found in several cemeteries along the coast. Of the ones I’ve found, the churches are several miles apart and in different counties. Both the applique markers and the Madonna busts communicate the regional nature of vernacular markers. The Madonna markers can all be seen here.
Temple Creek Baptist Church-Kingsland, Georgia
Kingsland, Camden County
Village Cemetery-St. Simons Island, Georgia
Glynn County
The Village Cemetery is located on the 258 acre Guale Preserve which is part of the Musgrove Plantation. It is a private cemetery that is only open to the ancestors of the enslaved who are originally buried there. This is one of the most incredible collection of vernacular headstones I have personally had the opportunity to document.
The glasswork and friezes are all done by an incredible artist(s). I tried to do genealogical searches to determine why these markers are here. Sometimes there are clues in the records, but I am unable to determine any.
My appreciation to Brian Brown to showing me this hidden treasure of a cemetery.
