Tag: Historic Church

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Black Lutheran Schools

I am forever enthused at what lies around the next corner. Always no matter where you turn in our beloved Southern Black Belt Region there is something to find that you did not know. Another story, another interesting person, place, or thing. 

I have been tied up for the last week working on projects concerning other business and had to refrain from rambling. Here it is another week coming up and last night my wife said, “it is supposed to rain mid-week.” If we are going to ramble, we need to do it tomorrow. Ha ha, she didn’t have to twist my arm. She is normally the one that is the responsible party in this relationship and tends to what needs to be done. I am normally the one that wants to be out rambling.

Last night I started scouring the maps. I had intentions of covering the area West of AL Hwy 21 and South of AL 10 as much as possible in the time we had. If you know the area, you know it is a sparsely populated area. Many miles of dirt roads with long distances where there are no houses of any kind.

Looking at Google Maps I found several potential things that I wanted to investigate in that area. As I continued looking, I found a church that jumped out at me. It was called Rosebud Lutheran Church and Rosa Young grave on the map. I later learned the proper name was Christ Ev. Lutheran Church and School.

Of course, I had no clue who Rosa Young was, but I had a strong awareness of the Lutheran Churches and Schools that had existed many years ago. I could remember the one at Tinela in Northern Monroe County. I actually remember as a very small child that they had school and church there in what would have been the very early 1960’s.

I also remembered that there was one North of Vredenburgh in Southern Wilcox County on the dirt roads that I always thought was one. I did not remember it being open, but I do remember going up through there and a guy I knew lived there on the property. There was also one out from Buena Vista. Although, I did not know where they were I had always heard that there were others. The ones I knew of closed to the best of my understanding and remembrance when they built a new one on the South side of Vredenburgh.  That one was larger and from my guess consolidated several of them into one. This would have been in the early 1960’s. I remember they had a school bus that I think was blue that served the school. I was very young when this happened, but I definitely remember much concerning it.

Because of my curiosity over the years, when I saw that one on the map it immediately jumped out at me. I knew that if there was a way, I would find it on this trip. We wound our way up through the hills from Beatrice checking out some other places that I had found on the map that were interesting. Because I am trying to be as thorough as possible locating things in an area, I was doing my best to get to as much as possible that looked like a possibility.

We ran miles of dirt roads some of them were pretty rough. With a rain coming in some of them would be definitely four wheel drive all the way in a Jeep. This time they were just slick and boggy. Next time will be a different story if it rains. We went through from old Nadawah across the hills and came out on AL 265 and then we turned back across the hills again from Fatama towards Neenah. Then finally in towards Rosebud. Watching my map closely we were able to find it with no trouble. Rounding the curve in the road there it stood. 

There was a green building trimmed in white. A lump came into my throat. I remembered those colors or in my mind they were the same anyway. The building looked to me almost exactly like the one I remembered from my early childhood at Tinela. As with every historical thing like that I see that for whatever reason my mind went elsewhere. It went to the old building on AL 41 out from Tinela. I remembered it when it was being used. Then I remembered it going down. Decade by decade slipping into oblivion being reclaimed by nature. In my mind they were exactly the same.

Mt Olive Church School (click link to read)

Then I started to focus on the rest of the grounds. Directly in front of the church was a grave surrounded by a metal fence. I then realized that this was the grave of a woman named Rosa Young. There was a small paragraph long introduction to her on her grave. 

Now if you know me, you know I had to find out more about this woman Rosa Young. They always say that Google is your friend. So, I went home and entered her name.

The first page that came up was the Encyclopedia of Alabama with her information.

https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/rosa-young/ From that information printed there I learned that she was known as the “Mother of Black Lutheranism in central Alabama. She was a strong advocate of education of rural children.” Rosa Young was born in 1890 and died in 1971. According to the above link, “she was instrumental in founding and promoting the development of Lutheran schools and congregations in the Alabama Black Belt.”

The story on the Encyclopedia of Alabama website is a great story and I will not try to elaborate more because the link to the information is there. One thing in the article in that publication however I strongly disagree with is that it states, “Young and a man named Nils J Baake visited these sites and founded schools that became centers of Lutheran congregations in Buena Vista, Tilden, Tinela, and Midway (all in Wilcox County) in 1916 and Ingomar (in Dallas County) in 1919.” I personally know for a fact that the one at Tinela, and Buena Vista were actually in Northern Monroe County. Tilden appears to have been in Dallas County, Midway also appears to have been in Monroe but at the writing of this post I have not located its where-a-bouts although I intend to if possible.

The Mission at Vredenburgh was a short distance North of the Monroe/Wilcox County line almost directly above the Apple Grove Church. Nothing stands visible there today however according to land ownership maps the Lutheran organization still owns the 5 acres there.

As I stop and think about this information that I have accumulated I can only imagine that it was a monumental feat for this woman raised in rural Alabama in those times to accomplish the feats that she did to bring education to this part of the Rural South. There are volumes more written about her online and in books so I won’t try to quote any more. 

Rosa Young is one more great American that should be remembered for centuries to come as a person in our great land that made a difference. In my opinion she is indeed a hero of our beloved Black Belt.

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Why The Black Belt?

Several people have asked me the question, “Why the Black Belt”?

Here is the best explanation I can give. Ever since I got back into photography a few years ago I have been sort of searching for a niche. I love drones, history, the outdoors, and writing stories. 

I have retired from both my lawn service business and as the pastor of a small church. My wife and I love to get out and ramble. Our health is good. Normally when I am out and about she is with me. 

I have been for quite a while shooting drone photos and videos of forest fire lookout towers. I bought my first digital SLR camera a couple of years ago. I had of course always since I was a kid loved photography. In the 1980’s and 90’s before digital I shot a lot of 35mm photos. I had owned numerous cheap digital cameras and taken a lot of photos with them also.

I felt the need/desire or whatever you would term it to travel and document the various things of our beloved southland. Even back with 35mm I did that often as well as some wildlife photography. First off, I started doing drone videos and putting them on YouTube. As that progressed, I started shooting photos of other things. I especially liked documenting pre-1900 churches.

I had already traveled over several counties in Alabama and some in Mississippi taking photos of the small towns. Midsummer of 2023, I started to try to visit all 67 counties in Alabama. I actually wrote a blog post on doing that in August. Rambling The Southland.

I decided to work the area East of I-65 from the bottom of the state to the top. Then, I would work the area from the bottom to the top on the West side of I-65. I went out four times. I would leave home, hit as many small map-dot towns as I could in a day. Then I would spend the night in my van and go again the next day.

I did this four different times. Three of those times I ran almost 600 miles each and put in a lot of hours. The fourth I ran over 700 miles. I would take so many photos doing this, that it would take me two weeks several hours a day, after I got home, to just go through, sort and locate where all the photos were taken. After that even more time to process and share to social media and on the website.

I was thoroughly enjoying doing what I was doing and planned to continue till I got all 67 counties. When I got up as far north as Hwy. US-80 which had me working the Eastern Black Belt I started to realize that I was trying to cover too much territory at the time. I was taking hundreds of photos, but I was trying to cover too much too thinly. Doing it this way just did not give me enough time to find out anything about what I was photographing. I was just getting photos but not getting the story behind the photos.

That is when I realized that I needed to focus deeper on one area and stick with it. Because there is so much of what I love in the Black Belt, that was where I needed to be. So here I am.

My goal now is to focus for as long as it takes on primarily the Western, Alabama, Black Belt. Western, meaning the areas primarily West of I-65. I do plan at some point to go back into the Eastern part again and do it the same way. My plan is to capture photos of as many of the pre-1900 churches as I can locate as well as any other things of historical interest. Along the way I will document whatever else that I run across that is interesting, unusual, or basically that catches my attention. I will focus at times on wildlife and primarily birds. The Black Belt is very rich in birds, and I feel that is something else I would like to keep documenting.

As I document the churches, I post them on my website under the tab Black Belt Churches. That page has an index of the counties. Under the tabs of the counties are the links to the individual pages of the churches themselves listed in alphabetical order for that county. That will be an ongoing work where I populate the various county pages as I visit them. Over time it will be into the hundreds of historical churches.

I have been and will continue to write blog posts on whatever and whenever as I travel. They can be viewed as I post them on my web site jacksonsramblings.com. I would like to go back to making some videos but I will not say when that will happen because doing what I am trying to accomplish now is a full time job, believe it or not.

From the information gathered and shared on my website it would be nice to have some books as well as calendars and other material printed.

I have always loved wildlife and at some point, I would like to have my wildlife photos somewhere as well, possibly another page on the website or on another website.

This is a project that to do it justice will take several years quite possibly. A lot of it will take multiple trips into the same area over the coming months and even years.

It would be incredible if I could pick up some sponsors who would love to see this accomplished. I could really use some updates on some of my camera equipment. There is also a considerable cost involved in traveling, maintaining and at some point, replacing my Jeep.  There are also expenses to maintain my small motorhome, as well as fuel and campground fees, meals when traveling, and so forth. There are always computer related expenses as well. My current MacBook is three years old so hopefully I won’t have to replace it for a good while yet.

Between my Facebook groups and pages, I now have in the thousands that follow and I appreciate the friendships that I have already made and look forward to a whole lot more as time goes on. I can only imagine what the coming months and years can and will bring. There are so many that I want to meet face to face and learn their stories and the stories of their family’s contributions to our great Black Belt Reigon.

If you have read this far, I welcome you and hope you will see fit to follow along on this project as I travel our beloved Historical Alabama Black Belt.

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Pine Flat Methodist Church

We woke up this morning as normal. It was a cool early Fall Day with the wind blowing. After we had breakfast and a couple of cups of coffee my wife asked me if I had anything I wanted to do today?

Now if you follow me then you know that it does not take much to get me to head out rambling. We finished our coffee and got showers and packed some stuff for a picnic style lunch and got in the Jeep and headed out.

The quest today was for the very Southeast side of Wilcox County. I had determined that I need to try to make another trip into that area and try to find a few more possibilities for photos and stories. I am trying to do as exhaustive coverage as possible of the Black Belt Region and it requires at times numerous trips into an area.

We covered several things and wound up on Hwy 10 headed East towards Greenville. When we crossed the Butler County Line, I said I will turn around at the next good place I find to get out of the road.

As we rode along, we came to a cemetery on the left (north side of Hwy 10). I slowed and turned in. I decided to look at the headstones for a minute and possibly take a few shots of the cemetery. 

That is when I saw it. Sitting in the back, kind of in a corner was this beautiful old white church building. You guessed it. My phobia kicked in. The one that must take a photo of an old church. I just had to check that out.

I walked through the cemetery and captured a few shots of the various graves. One particularly interesting one was one I saw that was covered in seashells. I saw at least one that was above the ground. There were others with beautiful headstones.

I finally got to the back of the cemetery and maneuvered around and captured a few frames of that beautiful old church. 

I would be afraid to guess how many times I have traveled across AL 10 in my lifetime. It is not that often, but it has been a considerable number. I am sure I have seen it before but for some reason I did not remember paying any attention to this church.

I saw the sign outside that said the name was Pine Flat Methodist and it was established in 1858. 

I went on back to the Jeep and we went on our way. I pondered on this one for a while and then my mind went to other things and places as we headed on home.

When we finally got home, and I had opportunity I started to research Pine Flat Church. I found that it is indeed a Historical Black Belt Church.

The first source I found on it was the Greenville Advocate online newspaper (1). The article in the September 27, 2023, titled Pine Flat Church Celebrates 165 years jumped out at me. From that article I found that on October 1, 2023 Pine Flat held the yearly home coming event and this year was the 165thyear. This memorial event is held the first Sunday in October and has been since 1968.

The second source I found on this old church was from a site called (2) Wikimapia. It said, “In the spring of 1858, the present Pine Flat Methodist Church building was erected by the men of the community with the help of their slaves. Virgin pine trees were felled, and the timber sawed with a jigsaw at Bowen’s Mill. The boards were then hand planed.”

“The church lot was deeded by James and Martha Reynolds who lived near the site where the first house was built in Butler County; this home was erected by James K. Benson, government surveyor in 1815”. 

This article goes on to say,  “The church had a slave gallery extending across the front end. This gallery could be entered by stairs leading from the front porch. At morning services, the slaves sat in the gallery and in the afternoon special services were held for the slaves who sat downstairs while the white people attending sat in the gallery. When the church was repaired in 1870 the slave gallery was removed. The pews, communion rail, table, half octagon-shaped pulpit, and doors all are constructed of heart pine and are put together with square nails or wooden pegs. At first the center pews were divided with a solid partition to separate the men from the women. The one odd small bench, in the style of a colonial deacons’ bench, was one of three that were placed near the altar, and were used by those who came requesting the prayers of the congregation.”

This is truly in my opinion a historical Black Belt Church that appears to be in great condition and will hopefully be standing just as well kept for centuries to come. I salute those that are taking care of it and hope the generations that follow will do the same.

Sources:

(1) https://www.greenvilleadvocate.com/2023/09/27/pine-flat-church-celebrates-165-years/

(2) http://wikimapia.org/37239368/Pine-Flat-Methodist-Church

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Ramah Church (Lowndes County)

Recently on my social media page I was asking for input on locating interesting places. Many times, I have done this in the past and had success in finding interesting places and other times it has been a dead end. 

On this particular time, I got several things mentioned and I made notes to figure it all out for some times of rambling in the future.

 One particular comment with a link immediately caught my attention. It was a blog post Michaelclemmer.blogspot. It was titled Ramah-The Church that Hope Built. Here is a link to this site. https://michaelclemmer.blogspot.com/2014/05/ramah-church-that-hope-built.html?fbclid=IwAR3SiRr2H0CY9J8wTsRK5J1quN-eH35Q9fuEWNhfNumQ3k9RY7d8NKyKlHc

Now like most times I read this and was immediately enthused on this great old church. Beings I was focusing on the areas of Lowndes and Dallas Counties I knew I had to find it while I was in the area.

I won’t in this post try to retell this writer’s story, but it is a noteworthy read.

Note that this Old Church was built in 1868 and was not affiliated with any denomination and was remodeled in 1904. From my observation it appears to be pretty much the same since this renovation.

Sitting at the bottom of the hill looking up at this beautiful old church gives one a sense of awe. As I recounted the story told from the linked blog post I could only imagine what it was like back when it was first built.

Reading that it was built by former slaves who were very poor it made it even more significant. Just to look up the hill at it and focus on the prominence of it. The commanding position on the top of the hill gave it distinction. 

As I do on almost everyone, I see I stop and think. I try to picture as typical Sunday morning. As I was thinking about it I could picture probably numerous people dressed as best they had to dress. Men, women, boys, and girls. Probably in a community as described there would be no flashy carriages. Probably only mules and wagons and people walking to get there in time for service. I could still visualize gatherings outside with food and laughter. This was a place I felt of peace. It was a place to gather, grow, and be uplifted and strengthened by the community around you.

This is one more place that has stood over 150 years and is still well preserved. Hopefully it will stand that much longer still as a symbol of Hope on this High Hill.

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CME Church At Lowndesboro, Alabama

I say it most of the time when I write about something that I have found. “I love rambling in Alabama.” You never know what is around the next turn. There is always something new to learn. There is always something different to see. Just when you are kind of starting to wonder, “well I wonder what’s next.” Bang here comes something else. It never disappoints. There is always something out there if you keep on looking.

This week I was looking in the area of Lowndes and Dallas Counties. We were staying at the Prairie Creek Campground. We left home around mid-day and drove the camper up and set up for the night. Then we set out for whatever.

I call it whatever because I am looking for whatever. I don’t know what it is but when I see it, I will know. Historical, different, original, yep I want to see it and take photos of it and learn what there is to know about it.

Riding into Lowndesboro, Alabama Tuesday afternoon did not disappoint. The first thing I noticed was the big old pre-1900 churches. I don’t know what it might be called to be the way I am about them, but I don’t seem to be able to pass one of those old churches without stopping and taking photos of it. Lowndesboro is a treasure in that sense.

One such church that I found was the CME Church. Now all of them are neat and I will probably talk about them later but this one is different for sure. At first I saw the church and did not realize exactly what I was looking at. At any rate a friend of mine had told me about this church. I got some photographs of it and the others in town and then went over to the Library at Hayneville. In the Alabama Room at the public library is a treasure trove of Alabama History stuff. 

On one of the shelves, I found a book titled Lowndesboro’s Picturesque Legacies. In that book was the story of this church and how it came to be.

From the story I read in this book a wealthy planter by the name of Major William Robinson was instrumental in the building what was first named the Methodist-Protestant Church. This was a church that was typical of the time. It had a gable roof on it with a portico that ran across the entire front of the church. This portico was supported by four tall wooden columns.

This book and other sources I read online dated the construction of this beautiful church at 1833. Although I did not get to go inside to see for myself. The writing says that there are winding narrow steps inside on each side that lead to the balcony that is across the rear of the church. 

The thing that makes this one more unique than any other in the entire world is the small octagon shaped steeple with the copperplated dome on top. This dome was once on top of the State Capital at Cahaba. I could not believe it. That to me was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen. I have seen a lot of 1800’s churches but never even knew before this week that this one existed.

This is one of the oldest churches in the Black Belt Region of Alabama. The book said that The Methodist-Protestant Church acquired the dome from the capital after the flood of 1933 caused it to collapse. 

Major Robinson wanted to retain this part of the Cahaba Capital. He acquired the dome and according to the book Major Robinson had to use six yokes of oxen to move it and because of the road conditions it took him a month to move the dome from Cahaba to Lowndesboro.

The book goes on to say that when he got there with it there was a dispute among the members and all except two families left the church. They established a new church at the present site of the United Methodist Church.

At the death of Major Robinson in the 1880’s the building and property were deeded to a group of former slaves and their children. It was at that time renamed CME Church.

Services continued in the church until 1966. The building was abandoned in 1983. In 1990 it was leased by a local task force for fifty years so that it could be preserved.

Today it stands a beautiful building that I was so fortunate to get the opportunity to photograph and find out the history on. It is truly a beauty to behold.

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Adams Grove Presbyterian Church

We all have things on our bucket list. For some folks the list is actually a real list and for others it is just something that they keep in the back of their minds. I am kind of that way. I don’t actually have a list made out that I follow but, I do have a lot of things that I want to see and do.

One of those things was to take a photograph of the Adams Grove Presbyterian Church at Sardis, Alabama.

I honestly don’t know the first time I saw a photo of it, but it was years ago. For some reason I have wanted to capture a photo of it ever since. Now you might ask why? I honestly do not know why it has stayed on my mind so long.

I have passed through Sardis several times over the years but for some reason I was in too big of hurry. Other times I would totally for some reason forget about it till it was too late to try to figure out where it was located.

On a recent trip to the Dallas/Lowndes County area taking photos and doing research I was in Selma. I had come across Hwy 80 from Prairie Creek Campground where my wife and I had our camper parked. I thought about it and this time it would not leave my mind, so I told my wife that this time I was going to find it before I went back to Prairie Creek for the night.

We drove down to Sardis, and I typed it in the map, and it popped up. I proceeded to follow the directions to get to it. I drove up and pulled to the side of the rode and as silly as it might sound to some I just stood there in the edge of the road in awe. Now if you are not addicted to taking photos of historical buildings that might sound crazy to you. However, for me it makes my mind go to racing.

Like I have done so many times before when seeing something like Adams Grove my mind went into overdrive. As I stood there, I started to picture in my mind what it looked like when it was new. I looked at what I could see from the road. As I stood there, I started to focus on what I could see of the interior. Obviously from the road I could only see a small amount, but it was enough.

I could picture it as it appeared in the 1860’s. I had read that it was constructed mainly in 1853 and somewhere in the back of my mind I thought that I had read it was finished in early 1854. (Researching later I did not find a date of 1854 so I guess that was just a dream.) 

I captured a few frames of it and proceeded back to the Jeep where my wife and Taffy our little dog were waiting patiently for me.

Riding on I was focusing on driving and the church. Pondering on what I had read up on it and what I saw. I had read that there were four different entrances. One for the women, which I assumed from past stories on others of the same time frame was the left front. One for the men which I assumed from the same sources was the right one. Then there were two side entrances for slaves to enter and they sat in the balcony. I have never heard any sources say whether the man and women slaves entered different doors.

All of the sources I have seen said that it was of an Antebellum Greek Revival Styled Architecture.  

As I said earlier, something about it just captivates my mind when I think about it. The time and expense involved in building it. I can see the men, women, and children in my imagination going and coming. I can see the horses and carriages bringing people. Probably some lived close enough as in most cases with many churches of that era to walk to church without a horse or carriage.

Then as I always seem to move forward in time in my mind I can for whatever reason imagine that there were cars. First Model T’s and then newer and more modern cars. 

From the best understanding I can find the last services were held there in 1974 and it was added to the Historic Registry in 1986. It is now privately owned.

This is just one more treasure that is slowly slipping into time and decay. In my opinion it would take an immense amount to restore it but it would be incredible to see it restored to its former glory once again.

This is truly one of many Black Belt treasures that I have been fortunate enough to get to see and hopefully one of many more left for me to find and photograph.

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Ft. Deposit Methodist Church

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.

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Puryearville Cemetery/ Centenary Church

Traveling through our beautiful Southlands there are so many sights to behold and so many things to learn. At every crook in the road there is history. Sadly, so much of it is fading away. While traveling through the dirt roads of Eastern Monroe County one encounters a road called Puryearville Road. Following that road there is a cemetery.

Over the years I have traveled that road numerous times. As I and other friends who research and ask questions have stated many times, we pass these things but really do not know much about them.

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Click picture to enlarge

On a recent trip through I started to ponder on this cemetery and the history of it.

Immediately I wanted to know more. So, I started to ask questions and seek out the rest of the story. That is where it got interesting.

Little did I know that this well kept beautiful cemetery way back on a red dirt road held a mystery that I wanted to learn. As with most things in history that we search out there is always more to the story.

Click picture to enlarge
Click picture to enlarge
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Click pictures to enlarge

In my searches I found that there was once a Methodist Church over that way by that same name. Further research showed that it actually stood beside where the cemetery is. They had removed that church and relocated it to a spot in Conecuh County and given it a new name.

The old Puryearville Methodist Church had become the Centenary Church. As I read more and asked more I found some history on it. 

According to a document that is on the Facebook Group Burnt Corn Alabama: 

Lazenby’s History of Methodism in Alabama and West Florida that is sourced by :

Reverend F.S. Moseley- — Eutaw, Alabama

Mr. John Cunningham—Evergreen, Alabama

Mrs. Eugene Riley—Monroeville, Alabama

This is excerpts of the account given in that document:

PURYEARVILLE METHODIST CHURCH MONROE COUNTY

The Purvearville Methodist Church started as a Society near Burnt Corn in 1820.

Among its earliest members were Isaac Betts, George Watson, and a Mrs. Puryear.

Another member there from 1820 until 1834 was James King, North Carolinian, licensed to preach in 1806 and moved to Alabama in 1819. It was while he was a member of Puryearville that he was ordained an elder by Bishop George in Sardis (Bellville) Church in 1822. King died at Allenton, Alabama and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Wilcox County.

His wife is buried at Old Sardis.

 Thomas Clinton was the first pastor appointed to the Conecuh Circuit, and he probably served this Society. 

After some years this Society was moved to the community known as Puryearville and the church became known as the Puryearville Methodist Church.

Some sources say the first church was built in 1830. The property was deeded

to the trustees in 1843.. 

The deed to the Puryearville Church property is recorded in Monroe County Court House. This deed is dated March 25, 1843 and shows that Richard C. Puryear deeded 2 acres of land to Isaac Betts, George Watson, William Black, Joel B. Walden, and Thomas Pritchett

as trustees. R. H. Puryear and Richard R. Mosley witnessed the deed to which Hickman Fowler acted as Justice of Peace. James McCall was county clerk at the time. 

It has been said that the upstairs of this, church was reserved for the use of the Washington-Monroe Academy and was also used for Masonic Meetings. This old building also had a slave gallery.

A new building replaced this old one about 1880 or 1890. The compiler first saw this building in 1912 and it seemed to have been twenty or thirty years old at that time.

The second building did not have an upstairs but was a neat small church in a beautiful location surrounded by trees.

All the trees have been cut and the church services were discontinued between 1928-30. The building was moved between 1941-43 when Reverend Sam E Hudgens was pastor of the Burnt Corn Methodist Church. 

Click picture to enlarge

The old church was moved and rebuilt on property donated by Mr. Sam W. Salter.

It was renamed The Centenary Methodist Church and was located about six miles east of Burnt Corn near the community known as Breckenridge. 

Oddly enough the Centenary Methodist Church was located diagonally across the road from the home of my Great grandparents the Dewberry’s. Finding all of this information on this church brought more meaning to me on it because of the fact that I am sure that they attended it some if not regularly. Little did I know any of this till I started to research Puryearvile Methodist Church.

Finding out all of this rich history of this cemetery and then going once again to the Centenary Church that is still standing brought a fulfillment to me and I hope it does to many others. I for one had been past the Centenary Church many times in my life. I had no clue of the connection that it has with the Puryearville Cemetery nor the community around it. This is one more reason that those of us who dig daily to learn thrive because there are so many stories that will be forever lost if they are not shared in media for the generations to come.

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Reaves Chapel Church

There are many old churches in South Alabama that I visit and have written about or I am researching to write about. Of all that there are out there though Reaves Chapel in Southern Wilcox County holds more prominence for me than any other I can name. It does so for several reasons. First off, my Father, Grandparents, Great Grandparents, and Great Great Grandparents, are all buried there. Not only them but numerous other people who have influenced or been a part of my life in some way.

From my earliest childhood I remember visiting the cemetery there and going through it with my Great Aunt who is also buried there. One of my greatest regrets I have in life right now is that I cannot remember the stories that she told me about the people that she knew that are buried there. Unfortunately, I was too young and there were too many to get. 

As always, I am searching for information and history on things of old. Recently I was able to get my hands on some information on Reaves Chapel Church and Cemetery. There is a pamphlet compiled by a lady by the name of Florence Lambrecht Swanson that I was able to read some information from that she had compiled. I was immediately enthralled by this particular piece of information because as I was reading through it I saw two names that immediately jumped out at me. The name of Minnie Knight Jordan, and Will Knight. Minnie Jordan being my Great Aunt that I had stayed with as a preschooler, whom I had walked the cemetery with many times hearing the stories of the folks that were buried there. Will Knight was of course my grandfather. I had also heard many stories from him along the way over my lifetime. 

One story that jumped out at me from this little publication was the story of the Mystery Grave. I had heard the story numerous times as a child. My great aunt and my grandfather had both walked me to the exact spots in the cemetery where the shoes had hung on the fence and the grave was. When I saw the story in her booklet I was totally enthralled because she was quoting my grandfather and credited him for telling the story. Below I will share the story word from word from her booklet and the illustration used in her booklet:

Taken from the Booklet on Reaves Chapel by Florence Lambrecht Swanson 

Reaves Chapel Mystery, or Ghost Grave

Grave 1, Section A (not marked)

Each cemetery has its mystery or ghost grave, and Reaves Chapel is no exception. The following story was told by W.J. “Bill” Knight who was a student of Reaves Chapel School when the event took place in about 1917-1918. According to Bill:

“We left school at the end of classes one afternoon, and all was quiet and peaceful on Reaves Chapel Hill. It was a dreary Fall afternoon, with a slow misty rain falling and a heavy fog hanging low over the hill and surrounding hollows.

The next morning, in the playing about the school yard and cemetery area as usual before the bell, we discovered a new grave. In the far-left corner of the cemetery where none had been the afternoon before. The red clay soil was carefully mounded over the grave and hanging on the fence at the head of the grave was a pair of mud-spattered, cracked brogan shoes with run down heels tied together by the laces. We ran to the teacher in great excitement, all talking at once about what we had found. Not much schoolwork was done that day.

This discovery caused great concern and much speculation in the community, and several opinions were expressed concerning the grave. One was that the grave could contain the body of a member of an outlaw gang which was reported to have passed through the community sometime that same period. Another was that a convict had been killed, whether by fair or foul means it was not said, as the sawmill camp located nearby which used white convict labor and buried there during the night.

To this date, no one knows “Who’s There.”

More history in her booklet is as follows as closely word for word as I can decipher and type it. Again I give all credit to Florence Lambrecht Swanson who researched and wrote the publication.

The History of Reaves Chapel Church and Cemetery

Reaves(Reeves) Chapel Church and Cemetery are located approximately 15 miles southeast of Camden, Alabama on Reaves Chapel Road, new Wilcox County Road No. 16 on 2.41 acres of land in the NE ¼ of NE ¼  of Section 2 Township 10, Range 7E. This land was included in the U.S. Patent Certificate No. 40,863 received by James L. Reeves (Reaves) on December 1, 1852.

The first documentary evidence of Reaves Chapel Church and Cemetery is the land deed executed Feb 19, 1901 by Jesse Thomas and Elizabeth F. Reaves transferring the property “known as Reaves Chapel Church and Graveyard” to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, through trustees R. A. Smith, J.W. Boroughs, A. Holloman, and E.S. Farish Jr. Jesse Thomas and John W. Reaves were sons of James L. Reaves.

James L. Reaves, a pioneer settler of the community was born in Kentucky in 1800 and came to the area while it was still part of the Mississippi Territory. He married Sarah S. Vinson, daughter of John W Vinson (Vincent) in Monroe County December 25, 1833. His first homestead was on 40.27 ½ acres of land in Wilcox County in the NE ¼ of the SE ¼ of Section 1, Township 10, Range 7,  which he received August 1, 1837 under U.S. Land Patent No. 25,703. He sold this area to Joshua Peavy, Methodist Minister, on October 20, 1841 for $350.00 (Wilcox County Land Records, Book G, page 195), and built his home in Section 35 where part of the log and frame house still stands. The “Location Map,” page 1,  shows the location of this home site, of Reaves Chapel Church and Cemetery, and the “Original Reeves-Farish-Mallard) Cemetery.”

The exact date that the Reaves Chapel Church was established is in question. The property was deeded to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in 1901. The phrase in the deed, “known as Reaves Chapel Church and Graveyard,” seems to indicate that it was already in use as a house of worship before 1901. Also, the certification affixed to the deed, “this is to certify that we release all claims we hold against the lands ‘known as the Reaves Chapel Church and Graveyard land’ this February 19, 1901,” and signed by T.B. Farish & Company, has the same meaning.

It is thought that the 1901, date of the first deed, is the date Reaves Chapel affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Reaves Chapel either operated as an independent church before 1901. Or under one of the several different Methodist Conferences in Alabama during the 1800’s. Dr. M.E. Lazenby, in his “History of Methodism in Alabama and West Florida, page 163 gives an interesting account of Methodist Protestant Church, which eventually joined with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, to form the Methodist Church.

It is believed and supported by facts listed below that the Reaves (Reeves) Chapel church was founded around 1859-1869 and is in use as a house of worship by the mid 1870’s. Information given by a former member, 1870’s as the date of the first burial in an unmarked grave, 1872, 1874, and the baptismal date of a former member all support the fact that it was in use before 1901.

Mrs. Samuel Ross (Harriett Issie Reaves) Thompson, Jr age 93 years at the time she gave the information in 1977, a former member whose family were members or Reaves Chapel since its beginning, related that her father Willian McDaniel Reaves, was born November 15, 1844.

She said, “Papa often told me that when he was about 15 years old, in  about 1859-1860, he accompanied his father, James L. Reeves, and several neighbors about the community to collect funds to build the church which had been planned. Some interested parties gave money, others pledged materials for the building, and others offered their help in the construction. Building of the church was a slow process as the men only worked on the building when they were not busy with their crops, and more than one trip around the neighborhood for funds was necessary before it was completed and ready for use.

“He said,” she continued , “that the original church was constructed of logs, cut by the men, and finished with wide plank flooring, ceiling and walls. It as used as a church and school until it was destroyed by fire sometime during the period 1890-1895. It was replaced by the present white frame church which was built in about 1896-1900.”

Reeves Chapel Church

The present church was built with two front entrances with steps leading to each. As was customary in many of he early churches, the men and boys entered the church through the right doorway and sat on the right side, and the ladies, girls, and very small children entered through the left doorway and sat in benches on the left side of the church, “ she added.

This beautiful old church still sits in the same location that it has for so many years. Meeting once a year family of those buried here and those wanting to learn of this rich history join to have a meal and meet concerning the business needed to keep the memorial going. Hopefully this beautiful place can continue to be maintained far into the decades and possibly even centuries to come.

If you have ties or other additions to this article please comment in the comments section.

Thanks, Jackson

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Vredenburgh Baptist Church

History is a boundless thing in the Southlands of the United States. At every turn in the road there is something historical and beautiful to look at. Being a native of Monroe County Alabama and a wanderer I am always confronted with something to see and investigate and learn more about.

Although I have lived here all my life there are so many things that I have seen countless times and yet I still know so little about. I am sure that this is true for so many people as they go about their daily lives.

Recently I was out exploring and taking photos because that is what I do and I rode in to Vredenburgh, Alabama.

For those that do not know Vredenburgh is in the very Northern most part of Monroe County. It was a sawmill town in the early 1900’s that employed many people. There were streets lined with houses that were company houses that the employees lived in with their families and at one time was a modern town for its time.

The object of my search on this trip was the Vredenburgh Baptist Church. It is located on the Eastern part of town right off the main drag.

Upon taking a few photos and leaving I did what I always do and went home, sorted through the bounty of pictures I had taken that day. I then shared some to the various sites on social media and uploaded a few to my web site where I load pictures for all of the churches I photograph. Discussion is aways interesting on the photos. Being this one is a very historical one immediately conversation got to getting more info on it. Reason being that is what I do. Pastor Dorsey McDonald said “Hey, I can get you some history on this one.” So here it is.

According to history given to me by members of the church on a document written by Margret McIntosh.

Quoting as follows:

                                         The History of Vredenburgh Baptist Church

1912-2012

The history of Vredenburgh Baptist Church cannot be told without telling the beginning of the town of Vredenburgh.

Peter Vredenburgh Jr owned a sawmill in Pine Hill, Alabama. This mil had a limited number of resources, so he started to scout around for more timberland. He found large tracts in Monroe and Wilcox counties that could be purchased for a very good price. He purchased approximately 80,000 acres and built a sawmill in a place he called Vredenburgh. Construction on the mill was begin in 1910 and completed in 1912. At that time houses were built, along with a large commissary, doctors office, and two churches. The Vredenburgh Baptist Church was one of those churches.

The Vredenburgh Family donated pew furniture and had pews made for each church. Mrs. Peter Vredenburgh Jr. bought a baby grand piano for what is not the Vredenburgh Baptist Church. The piano is still used. In 1969 it was refinished by J.Y, McIntosh Jr., and Barney Crouch.

At the time the church was built it was used by Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Assembly of God members. There was a Union Sunday School using David C. Cook Publishing Company Literature. This literature was used till the church was reorganized in 1966.

 The church building was used for a school until a building could be built across the street. The right and left wings were added to the building several years after the original building was built. 

At a meting held March 17, 1912, presided over by Rev. G. N. Kimbrough, Vredenburgh Baptist Church was organized. 

The minutes of that meeting read, That the Baptist People of Vredenburgh did then and there organize a Baptist Church termed the First Baptist Church of Vredenburgh.

There were twelve charter members:

                                   Mr./Mrs. O.L. Landrum Mr./Mrs. C.C. Curry

                                   Mr./Mrs. J.T. Stevens  Mr./Mrs. T.J. Maroney

                                   Mrs. S.L. Hall Mrs. J.B. Trawick

                                   Dr. L.W. Chapman  Mr. M.P. Bettis

The church elected O.L. Landrum and J.T. Stevens to serve as deacons. Dr. L.W. Chapman was named Treasurer and M.P. Bettis , Church Clerk.

The minutes of this first meeting further stated that Rev. G.N. Kimbrough was elected as pastor for a salary of $250.00 annually for two services per month conducted on the third Sunday of the month. The offerings taken at each service would be used to pay Rev. Kimbrough his salary and expenses when in Vredenburgh.

The minutes recorded August 18,1912 state that preparation for membership in the Pine Barren Association was the purpose of the meeting was the purpose of the meeting. Membership was granted when the Pine Barren Association’s annual meeting was held in Beatrice September 4, 1912.

The conference held December 15, 1912, established the serving of the Lord’s supper semi-annually in January an July.  The meeting time was changed by request of Rev. Kimbrough to the first Sunday instead of the third Sunday that was established in the church organization.

The first “protracted meeting” was held October 26, through November 3, 1913. Four professions of faith were recorded. Baptismal services were performed at Concord Baptist Church in Buena Vista, Al. 

On June 30, 1954, the Vredenburgh Family sold their holdings to International Paper Company Hollingsworth-Whitney (Scott Paper Company), and a group of investors who called themselves “The Wilmon Group.” In 1963 these corporations divided the properties and Wilmon Timberlands remains in Vredenburgh today.

In 1959 under the leadership of Rev. Robert E. (Mac) McCullough, the church went to a full time Baptist church. The other denominations had discontinued their services.

During the pastorate of Rev. Frank Schmidt (1960-1962) the church was given a house for the pastorium and the school building across the street. The school building was used for Sunday School rooms, fellowship, and youth activities.

The Saturday before Easter 1962 was a tragic one for Vredenburgh. The sawmill, operated by E.L. Bruce Cp. of Memphis, TN, burned and the owners would not replace it. The town was almost emptied as people moved away to find jobs. Frank Schmidt was pastor of the church. He left during the summer to go to another church.

Ben Jones of Columbus, GA rebuilt the sawmill and began operation in January ,1965. Several of the former residents moved back.

Sunday School continued under the leadership of Henry McIntosh. In 1966 Members of the church met in the home of Mr./Mrs. Clearance Fuller to discuss the possibility of renewing the worship service. It was voted to find a pastor for full-time services. The minutes of the church state that the church voted to call Gerald W. Kline as pastor. The vote was unanimous.

In 1968, Albert Huckaby became the pastor. He was there until 1971. He led the church to do many thigs and the congregation grew. 

During 1969, Bathrooms were installed in the front halls, and pews were donated by individual families were added to the sanctuary. An extension was built on the back of the church to house five Sunday School rooms and a pastor’s study. Mr. Ben Jones donated the lumber and labor for this construction.

Also, during this hear the first Homecoming was set for March 16. Dinner was scheduled to be served outside, but rain prohibited this. Center pews were removed from the sanctuary and a table was set up on workhorses that extended from the church entrance to the altar. A record crowd of over 100 enjoyed this fellowship. The four-foot-wide table was filled to capacity with wonderful food brought by those attending. 

The partition between the two rooms in the right wing of the church was removed and a fellowship hall was made. This took place in 1970.

New pulpit furniture and Remembrance Table were purchased in 1971. 

The left wing of the church contains a library, storage closets, and a nursery.

Ben Jones (Longleaf Industries, Inc) sold the mill to Bendix Corporation in February 1976. He deeded the church property and the parsonage to Vredenburgh Baptist Church and dedication of this deed was held March 7, 1976. Rev. L. R. Brown was pastor. Dr. Billy Nutt came from the Alabama Baptist Convention to assist in this event.

Central air conditioning was installed in the educational wing in 1976. Central heat and air were installed in the sanctuary and fellowship hall in 1990, and heat strips were added in the system in the education wing.

The minutes recorded on January 10, 1982, state that the Lord’s Supper is to be served every fifth Sunday. This is still the practice of Vredenburgh Baptist Church.

On October 12, 1952, the church granted a license to preach to Cleveland Stabler. He is the pastor of Awin Baptist Church.

There were several periods in which no minute were recorded. It is assumed that business meetings were not always part of the church.

The church finances have been good and the minutes record a never ending generosity in the use of the abundance the Lord has provided.

Rev. Walter E. Sheffield has served as pastor since September 1983. He has turned in his resignation effective October 3, 1999. The church membership and activities have all been increased during his tenure as pastor.

Vredenburgh Baptist Church is still very active with 37 resident members. Sunday School, Discipleship Training, WMU, and Wednesday night prayer meeting are the services offered. There is a nursery provided for all services. Bible School has been very successful. ON fifth Sunday night a fellowship is enjoyed. Homecoming is an annual event on the last Sunday in September. 

                                                                 Addendum

There have been changes in the church since 1999. Three pastors have served. Randy Davis, Mitchell Murphy, and Gus Jones. Paul Kirchharr is now serving as interim.

In March 2006, a down draft wind destroyed the fellowship wing. Earnest Halbrook , George Pugh, Sam Bender, and Joanne M. McGraw were elected to the building committee. Work began in May to rebuild and was finished enough that Homecoming in September 2006 was held in it. Work was completed in October. This has been a real blessing to the church.

This year marks the 100th year for Vredenburgh Baptist Church. The only services are Sunday School and morning worship. We presently have 4 classes. We have an active WMU that meets once a month. Every Sumer we have Bible School. 

Thanks to all who were involved in getting this document to me to share on this site. May God bless Vredenburgh Baptist to be as productive the next hundred years as the last one has been.

To all that read this post I hope you enjoyed learning about this beautiful old church that has withstood the test of time.