Tabernacle Baptist Church started as East Side Baptist Church, which has since been forgotten by current church members. East Side Baptist Church is believed to have been established on March 29, 1911, when a small group of people met in a Presbyterian church on Tennessee Street with the purpose of organizing a Baptist Church. According to Bartow County deed records, on February 24, 1912, five deacons of East Side purchased land from Miss Lena G. Ford for $100.00. This was the same land that had been previously purchased on June 1, 1895 by an unnamed Presbyterian church, the supposed church where the founding members met to organize the Baptist church.  Later in September of that year, a delegation was sent to the Middle Cherokee Association to apply for membership. The church has grown exponentially since then. Throughout the years, the church has made many land purchases and has even moved locations. In September 1925, the name of the church was changed from East Side to Tabernacle Baptist Church. During this time the church had been meeting in a temporary building nicknamed the “Tabernacle” until a permanent edifice could be constructed on their current location, giving the church its new name. Work began on a new building in 1944. In 1960, an affidavit was recorded to establish that East Side Baptist Church and Tabernacle Baptist Church are one and the same organization.

Today, the church is housed in a 35,000 square foot three story building in downtown Cartersville at 112 East Church Street, Cartersville, GA 30120. The church location is viewable on this map of Bartow County Baptist Churches: https://goo.gl/maps/9uTux1G4ZvQ2. There is also no cemetery associated with this church. They have over three thousand church members and are affiliated with the Bartow Baptist Association, Georgia Baptist Mission Board, and the Southern Baptist Convention. In addition to having many active ministries, the church also operates the Tabernacle Weekday Preschool. The church currently holds services at 9:15 am, 10:45 am, and 6 pm every Sunday. More information is available on the church website at www.tabernaclebaptist.org.

Sources

Deed of Affidavit from C. D. Kitchen, E. R. Mires, and W. B. Perry, 30 January 1960 (filed 18 February 1960), Bartow County, Georgia, Deed Book 120, page 150. County Recorder’s Office, Cartersville, Georgia.

Deed of Sale from Miss Lena G. Ford to East Side Baptist Church, 24 February 1912 (filed 28 March 1912), Bartow County, Georgia, Deed Book RR, page 453. County Recorder’s Office, Cartersville, Georgia.

“Info + FAQ.” Tabernacle Baptist Church. Accessed July 18, 2018. http://tabernaclebaptist.org/im-new/.

“Tabernacle Baptist Church.” Bartow County Georgia Heritage Book. Vol. 2. Cartersville: Bartow County Genealogical Society, 1998. 50-51.

“TBC’s Beliefs.” Tabernacle Baptist Church. Accessed July 18, 2018. http://tabernaclebaptist.org/about-us/our-beliefs/.

Written and researched by Amy Young, Kennesaw State University Intern, Fall 2018.