In northeast Alabama, near Lookout Mountin, sits a church that was founded in 1907. Edna Hill Methodist Church served this rural congregation until the 1950s.
Edna Hill Methodist Church-DeKalb County, Alabama
Tag Archives: Dekalb County
Eldren Bailey-Atlanta, Georgia
Eldren Bailey (1903-1987) was a sculptor known for large concrete sculptures. Born in Flovilla, Georgia, he moved to Atlanta at an early age. He first worked with the railroads, but he later became a mason. Many of his sculptures were brightly colored and adorned his front yard. Where he was most prolific though was helping many Black-owned funeral homes with the creation of grave markers.
Admittedly, I had always interpreted these as temporary markers, and for some families, they might have been true. For many, these markers are now permanent. Bailey’s markers differ from many of the other concrete markers seen in Black cemeteries.
Some of his larger pieces did end up in museums, but many of the sculptures seen in his front yard have disappeared.
For more reading, I suggest the following:
Books recommendations
Rock Chapel United Methodist Church-Dekalb County, Georgia
Rock Chapel Methodist Church was the oldest Methodist congregation in DeKalb County, Georgia. Founded in 1825, the congregation started on what is Rock Chapel Road near where the Joseph Bond house is. In 1834, Bond donated land west of its first location. A church was built that burned in 1870. The current structure is what replaced that building.
Based on church documents, enslaved members were included in the church rolls. In 1846, 11 people were listed. In the 1858 rolls, the comgregation included 61 enslaved people.
Based on information I found online, I believe the congregation dissolved in 2016.
Lyon Farmhouse, Georgia
The Lyon Farmhouse, built around 1820 and restored in 2019, is considered one of the oldest remaining homes in Dekalb County, Georgia. Members of the Lyon Family occupied the home until 2007, even though ownership was transferred to the county in 2003. Prior to the end of the Civil War, the slave census records indicated that the Lyon family enslaved 17 people. After the Civil War, the freedmen and women of the Lyon family stayed in the area to start one of the oldest Black communities in the state. The community named Flat Rock served as an important support system to create a thriving community.
Notable descendants of the families who formed Flat Rock are Willie Gault (football player), Chris Tucker (comedian), and Warren Moon (football player).
