Yesterday my wife and I were out rambling. We had our motorhome parked up in Southern Lowndes County. As always, we were looking for interesting things to photograph and learn about.
A few weeks ago, I had been through Ft. Deposit AL. taking pictures of the town as I have done so many in the past. When I came through before I had captured some images of a beautiful old church that I later learned was the Ft. Deposit Methodist Church. On the day I had come through before there was a food give away going on and there were cars lined up all over town waiting for the food that was being distributed. Because of that fact I could not get a shot of the church without cars in it, and I do not like to do that if possible. I had told my wife that if I could I would like to ride through and possibly capture some more shots of that one.
We headed up to Ft. Deposit and made the turn down the street that this church was on and sure enough this time there was not a car in sight. That was awesome. I was excited beyond measure. On top of that they have been working on it when I was up before and now, they had painted the front and it looked incredible. I could not wait.
I parked my Jeep across the road and got my camera out and started to get into position to get a few shots. I heard a voice come from across the road where some men were working on finishing up the work on the paint. I walked across and the young man who introduced himself to me as Alan Little whose crew was working on the building started telling me about the building.
He asked me if I would like to get a few photos of the inside? Asking me that question would be like asking a pig if he liked mud. Of course, I wanted to. For me that is a rarity. Normally I do not go up close enough to these old churches to get inside. I do not want anything to happen to one and me be seen as the last one there. Normally I stay away although I love to take photos of them. Therefore, getting invited to take a few photos of this incredible old building was absolutely a treat.
He opened the door, and I went in. I was awestruck. Inside it is beautiful. I walked around and took random photos of the inside. The stained-glass windows were incredible. From my understanding they dated back to around 1800 but it was not clear to me where they had come from. I took several photos of the inside of the building, and they are shared here but honestly, I felt that they did not do this work of art justice. It is a show piece in my opinion.
As I walked through this incredible building, I was so thankful for the opportunity to get to witness it firsthand. I could imagine the finely dressed families coming in and sitting on the beautiful pews. I could in my mind hear the singing and then preaching that would have been there.
As I walked out the door still daydreaming of what it might have been like I could visualize the carriages and wagons that people who drove would have been riding in. Being in town I would have figured that many would have quite possibly just walked to church thus not having a carriage or wagon to have to deal with. What an incredible show it would be to be able to see all of this as it was back then.
Once back outside, I saw on the side of the building a plaque that said Erected in 1861 Perfected 1899. From the best understanding I could determine the building was originally built in 1861. Then that building was destroyed or severely damaged and this building was completed in 1899. In the conversations concerning it I understood that the first service in this building was in Jan. 1900 although I did not catch the date.
After this preservation this grand old building should be standing several more decades and hopefully will continue to be preserved for centuries to come.
It was definitely an uplifting visit for me and I am so thankful that I got to witness it and be able to share it with those who follow my writings.