Altamaha, Tattnall County
Founded in 1868, the church still holds services on the first Sunday of each month.
Pearson’s United Methodist Church, Georgia
Tag Archives: church
Wesley United Methodist Church, South Carolina
Jacksonboro, Colleton County
Euhaw Baptist Church, South Carolina
Grahamville, Jasper County
From the historical marker, “Established on Edisto Island about 1686 by Scotch dissenters, this is the second oldest Baptist organization in the South. For many years a branch of First Baptist Church in Charleston, Euhaw declared itself a separate church in 1745 after relocating to this vicinity from Edisto Island. A sanctuary was built 6 mi. NE in 1751; it burned in 1857. The first sanctuary on this site was built in 1860. It burned in 1904 and was replaced by the sanctuary in 1906, which is still used for occasional services. The present sanctuary nearby was built in 1982.”
The church was built for the wealthy planters who used Grahamville as a summer home. The sanctuary was built to hold over a 1000 people, most of those seats being taken by the enslaved people of the church members.
Zion Episcopal Church, Georgia
Talbotton, Talbot County
Built in 1848 and consecrated in 1853, the Zion Episcopal Church in Talbotton, Georgia was recently restored. This carpenter gothic style church served as a congregation for a planter class of families who had relocated from the coast.
Like many antebellum churches, the church was built with a slave gallery that still lines the upper perimeter of the church. The doors were locked, so I was unable to document the inside.
It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Reid’s Chapel Baptist Church and Cemetery, Georgia
Willard, Putnam County
I am unable to locate much information on the church. The cemetery is active with burials as recent as 2021. The names on most of the headstones were some version of Clements, Clemons, and Clemmons. Several of the headstones had impressions on the back of the headstones.
Fairfield AME Church, Georgia
Jackson, Butts County
Founded in 1868, the Fairfield AME Church sits on the outskirts of Jackson, Georgia in Butts County.
Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church and School, Georgia
Butts County, Georgia
I don’t know the age of the church and school, but this shows how close some schools, churches, and cemeteries can be when a congregation provides for all three to its members.
Green Grove Missionary Baptist Church and School, Georgia
Green Grove Community, Stewart County
Founded in 1886 in a bush arbor, the Green Grove Missionary Baptist Church was named because of the year-round green forest that surrounded the church. Perry Hudson, Louis Cherry, and Isaac Shorter founded the church. By 1898, the church began to host school in the church building. Unfortunately, the church was destroyed by a tornado in 1919.
By 1920, the church was rebuilt on land given by Heddy York. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by fire a mere four years later. Another church was built and opened by 1927. In 1937, a school built and used by white schoolchildren was no longer used. Known as the Wesley Chapel School, the building was moved and renamed the Green Grove School. It still stands today. The school was used until 1958, when schools were closed for consolidation.
The church is still active. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
Source- Willie Marie Porter’s book A Grateful People: An Historical Account of the Founding of a Community
Unidentified Church, Georgia
Jefferson County
This could also be a school.
Farm Church, Georgia
Jefferson County
This church sits in the middle of a field on what appears to be an active farm. Just on the edge of the photo is part of the home. Tax records indicate the home was built in 1895. The records list many barns and sheds but no church. This might be the fanciest barn I have ever photographed. It’s been determined by reviewing old aerial photographs that this church was moved to this farm.
Unidentified Church, Georgia
Davisboro, Washington County, Georgia
Thompson Bridge Baptist Church, Georgia
Waynesboro, Burke County, Georgia
The church was founded in July 1908 under the leadership of Rev. W. W. Jones. This church is an offshoot from Bottsford Baptist Church.
John I. Blackburn Presbyterian Church, Georgia
Keysville, Burke County
Tied to the Boggs Academy in Keysville, the Blackburn Church began as the Morgan Grove Presbyterian Church in 1907. Five children began school in the church building. Unfortunately, in 1930, the building was destroyed by fire. A new church was built due to the generosity of the Blackburn family. An addition was added in 1962.
Keysville Evangelistic Church and Cemetery, Georgia
Keysville, Burke County, Georgia
Located across from the post office in Keysville, Georgia is this small church with a mausoleum for Reverend Quillar Vertery Russell (1889-1959) and family. My friend Brian and I had just stopped when a nice Keysville native stopped to chat.
He asked if we were kin to the Russells, and we said no. He said that the Reverend was the church’s founder and owned the lumber mill in Keysville. He told us to go inside.
In diving into the ancestry records, Reverend Russell was a farmer and mill owner. I suspect he founded this church as the Keysville Baptist Church.
Over the years, it changed names to the Keysville Evangelistic Church and finally to the New House of Worship before it closed for good.
Bethel Baptist Church, Georgia
Sparta, Hancock County, Georgia
The church was founded in 1802, and the building was moved to this site in 1828. Prior to Emancipation, the church held services for slave holders and the people they enslaved.
After the Civil War, the newly freedmen and women founded Hickory Grove Baptist Church.