Tag Archives: church

-Georgia, Black History, Churches and Temples

Rehoboth CME Church-Johnstonville, Georgia

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The Rehoboth Church is also known as the Rehobeth Church. The congregation was founded in 1869, which was very early for a Black church in the South.

-Georgia, Churches and Temples

Liberty Hill Primitive Baptist Church-Lamar County, Georgia

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From the sign on the door, “The last meeting was on September 25, 1987. The final members were Ollie Kinard, Lillian Rivers, and Shirley Ray. The last pastor was Elder Rubert Nobles.” It now serves the congregation of the Church of the Lost and Found.

-Georgia, Cemeteries, Churches and Temples

Union Primitive Baptist Church and Cemetery-Goggans, Georgia

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The church was founded in 1837 in what is present day Monroe County. The current church is the second one for the congregation after it was built in 1890. The Goggans family (founders of the town, too) gave the land for the physical establishment of a church and cemetery.

There are a mixture of markers and fieldstones throughout the cemetery.
Rebecca Pitts (1810-1970) and John (1802-1886) Goggans donated the land for the church.
A cairn is one of the interesting burial markers in the cemetery.
-Alabama, Black History, Churches and Temples, National Register of Historic Places, Rosenwald Schools, Schools

Oak Grove School and Church-Hale County, Alabama

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The Oak Grove Church and School sit at the end of a dirt road in Prairieville, Alabama. The school was built in 1925 for the local Black community. Built as a two-teacher school at $3000, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

-Mississippi, Abandoned, Black History, Cemeteries, Churches and Temples

The Ruins of St. John’s Episcopal Church-Glen Allan, Mississippi

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Glen Allan, Mississippi is located in the Mississippi Delta region of Washington County. Built in 1830, it was one of the first churches in the area. During the Civil War, the stained glass windows were supposedly removed to assist in the Civil War efforts by using the lead in the windows for bullets.

This began the decline of the church building. Unfortunately, it was hit by a tornado in the early 1900s, and the outer brick walls were destroyed leaving most of what you see today.

This the funeral marker for Jesse Crowell, the only person of color to be buried in the adjacent cemetery. The marker reads, “Born into slavery and held by the Turnbull family, he was a master craftsman who directed the construction of St. John’s Episcopal Church. He supervised the preparation of timber from the forests, as well as bricks made on site by fellow slaves. He personally carved the wood for the chancel rail and pulpit, creating his own design from the leaves of native trees. A devoted Christian, he became the church’s sexton for the remainder of his life. When he died, Bishop Wm. Mercer Green, Sr. preached his funeral from the church, and Jesse became the only person of color ever buried in Greenfield Cemetery.”
I cannot confirm what this is, but I asked some cemetery experts, and they believe that it was a holding vault for the cemetery that is located next to the churchyard.
-Alabama, Churches and Temples

Union Church-Perdue Hill, Alabama

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Union Church was built before 1880 and has served as a house of worship for every denomination in the immediate area. A photo of the church in the 1930s can be seen on the Encyclopedia of Alabama.