By Amy Young
Presented to the Etowah Valley
Historical Society in Completion of an Internship Program under the Direction
of Joe F. Head as EVHS Intern Field Supervisor and Dr. Jennifer Dickey and Dr.
David Parker at Kennesaw State University
December 3, 2018
For anyone who has traveled in the
southernmost parts of the Appalachian Mountains, there is one fact that is
entirely clear: it is impossible to go more than five miles without passing a church
building off the side of the road, to see the standard “old country church on a
hill.” These religious centers are everywhere, existing in a variety of
denominations: Baptists, Methodists, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Episcopal. There
are dozens of church buildings dotting the countryside, cities, and towns in
this region of the United States. Each has their own history, their own unique congregations
made up from people of all walks of life. To the passerby, there is nothing
significant in these buildings, sprawling campuses, hills covered in grave
markers, or words on the sign that tell the rest of the world what type of congregation
meets in the building. However, a deeper examination shows there is much to be
learned from these blurs on the landscape.
The most prominent Protestant
denomination in America is Baptist, the faith that makes up the largest
percentage of these meeting houses in the southern Appalachians.[1]
According to a study completed by the Public Religion Research Institute in
2017, they found “one-third of Protestants, or 32 percent, identify with some
Baptist denomination…”[2]
However, as many researchers have pointed out, signs on the outside reading
“Baptist Church” does not mean they are all the same on the inside. This idea
has been around for quite some time. In 1886, John H. Spencer published A History of Kentucky Baptists: From 1769 to
1885. In it, he approaches the idea of there being more than one “sect” of
Baptists.[3]
Deborah Vansau McCauley used this in her own argument against blurring all
types of Baptists into one in the introduction to her work Appalachian Mountain Religion: A History. For her argument, Baptists
are lenses through which to examine mountain religion in the Appalachia region;
however, it is too narrow of a vision to use it to generalize about churches
that exist in the region.[4]
In the most basic of terms, there
are a few common threads that are true of all Baptist churches. Three of them,
in particular, are critical to understanding the Baptists and what sets them
apart from other Protestant denominations. One, the Baptist denomination
believes in the Bible “as the sole written authority for faith and practice.”[5]
Second, people will choose to believe in salvation of their own accord at any
given age. It is then, when they have made this choice in free will through
faith believing they will be fully immersed in baptism. The last is the belief
that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are both symbolic practices that are not
necessary for salvation.[6]
Beyond these minimal fundamental truths, there is significant variation between
the beliefs and practices between Baptist congregations.
Apart from the theological
differences, it is also important to understand the organizational structure of
a Baptist Church is not only quite different from other denominations but can
vary tremendously. For example, compare Baptists to Methodists. For Methodist
churches, particularly those a part of the United Methodist Church, governance
falls in the hands of a select few. According to the United Methodist Church
website, the responsibility is divided among three ruling bodies: The General
Conference, the Council of Bishops, and the Judicial Council.[7]
Baptists are entirely different. There is no top-down governance of the Baptist
churches. In the same way each congregation of Baptists is different, each is
governed differently, typically in a more “democratic” fashion.[8]
It is the members of the church that have a voice and a vote for when it comes
to governing the church, which typically happens in conference meetings, held
at appointed times. While women in one Baptist church may not be allowed to
speak in a conference meeting, at another they might have the ability to elect
a female minister.[9]
Even with such organizations as the Southern Baptist Convention and the
American Baptist Association in existence, they are not meant to govern the
churches; instead, they are “fellowships of Baptist churches who have elected
to associate with each other for the furtherance of the cause of Christ on
Earth.”[10]
It is for this reason there is such a variation among the denomination.
Despite the many variations and
differences, the Baptist faith is a critical cornerstone of communities in
areas of Appalachian culture. Baptist churches and their physical presence on
the landscape have evolved over time to meet the needs of their communities as
they have progressed, to be places of refugee for religious thought, and to
continue to exert their influence on the population. Bartow County, Georgia is
the perfect place to examine how community influences the characteristics and
developments in a Baptist church. Of the 100 or more Baptist churches in Bartow
County, no two are exactly alike. The individuality of each congregation has
created a variety of Baptist cultures in less than 500 square miles, each important
in their own way to understanding the role it plays as a cornerstone in its
respective community.
Churches are unique in their
capability of serving as ways to capture change in society over time. This
stems from their foundational roles in their communities, making it easy for
them to reflect their changing nature. Among Baptist churches, it is even
possible to see change between different communities because of the minimal similarity
between the churches. Each congregation is able to maintain its individuality. However,
in 1966, Samuel Hill, Jr. pitched the idea that there was a similarity across
even denominations in southern religion connected to a distinct culture in the
South. In Chapter Two of his book, Southern
Churches in Crisis, he addresses his belief in there being a “regional
church,” meaning all churches across denominational lines are very similar to
each other, as if they were part of one large body.[11]
Though this theory works to support his argument for the social crises
affecting religious life in the South. Thirty years later, his argument found
further support in Mark R. Bell, who wrote an article entitled, “Continued
Captivity: Religion in Bartow County, Georgia” to examine the changes in
southern religion since the publishing of Hill’s book. Bell uses such common
threads as salvation and bible-centeredness between Protestant denominations in
Bartow County to further the idea of hegemony.[12]
In the same year Bell released his
article, the Southern Anthropological Society published Religion in the Contemporary South: Diversity, Community, and Identity,
edited by O. Hendall White, Jr. and Daryl White. This work refutes the claims
of Hill and Bell about an overarching similarity between all southern churches
of all denominations. In the introduction alone, they acknowledge the religious
identity of different churches has split up and further individualized over
time. They also make the statement, “… Religion in [the] South is more diverse…
than when the analysis of… Hill first appeared.”[13]
Upon further study of the Baptist denomination in Bartow County, it is sensible
to conclude White and White were correct. There is a clear pattern of
individuality amongst the churches over time than Hill or Bell acknowledged in
their works. Such diversity would not exist without the unique position of each
church in its community.
Historical Background
Prior to 1832, what is now Bartow
County had been Native American territory for thousands of years. Hernando de
Soto had been the first European to encounter the Indians in the area, noting
the mound-builder culture in modern day northwest Georgia.[14]
These were the Etowah Valley Indians, Mississippian culture natives that were
residing in what is now Bartow County. Though these natives would abandon the
area, others would come to replace them, the Creek and Cherokee Indians.[15]
It was these native groups that were living in this part of Georgia when the
Europeans came and established a royal colony on the coast. Up from the coast
of Savannah and down from the Carolinas, settlers spread all over the interior
of the state, looking for farmable land and natural resources to exploit.
Missions were also being spread, particularly into areas where Native Americans
lived. One of the first American establishments near Bartow County in modern
day Gordon County was the Moravian mission, located near the community of
Adairsville.[16]
Overtime, more settlers flooded in to the area as a result of the Georgia Land
Lottery. Gold had also been discovered in north Georgia in 1828, flooding the
mountains for those in search of wealth. Despite coming with varying purposes,
the people in the area came together on December 3, 1832 and established Cass
County, Georgia.[17]
Cass County grew and developed for
less than thirty years before the breakout of the Civil War. Initially, it had
little impact on the county or the rest of the region, only seeing minor
instances like the famed Great Locomotive Chase.[18]
Later in the conflict, the war hit Georgia head on. Sherman marched through
Cass County, camping in the area, tearing buildings down for shelter and heat,
and burning large parts of it to the ground. During the course of the war, the
county was renamed Bartow County, after Francis Bartow, the first Confederate
Civil War officer killed at the first Battle of Manassas (Bull Run).[19]
Since the conclusion of the war, the communities of Bartow have been ever on
the rise. Industries have come and population has risen; however, parts of the
county have remained rural, despite massive growth around the bigger centers,
like the county seat of Cartersville. Today, Bartow County has a population of
105,054, the 24th largest in the state out of 159 counties.[20]
It’s also the 38th largest county in the state at 470.6 square miles.[21]
The county seat, Cartersville, is located an hour from both Atlanta, Georgia to
the south and Chattanooga, Tennessee to the north.
The history of the Baptist Church in
Bartow County flows with the history of the rest of the county. Two of the
oldest recorded Baptist churches, Adairsville Baptist Church and Oothcalooga
Baptist Church, were both born out of the Moravian mission located north of the
modern Bartow County border.[22]
More were established throughout out the 19th century as the
population grew and small communities began to develop. Some of these
communities would grow into the main six cities that still exist today:
Cartersville, Adairsville, White, Emerson, Kingston, and Euharlee.[23]
Additionally, there are dozens of other, smaller communities: ATCO, Cassville,
Stilesboro, Taylorsville, Grassdale, Rydal, Mechanicsville, Allatoona, and
Crossroads, to name a few.
The churches have not been immune to
the afflictions that have affected the county since its start. Several faced
destruction during the Civil War. Most notable was the destruction at Cartersville
First Baptist Church. The church building served as a temporary base for
General Sherman and his troops as they passed through the county. They tore
down much of the building for firewood, to build quarters for themselves, and
to add chimneys to their tents.[24]
They also used the building as a temporary barn for their horses. War is not
the only disasters these churches have had to face. Natural disasters, such as
tornadoes, have frequently impacted the county, causing massive amounts of
damage. One of the most famous instances of tornado damage happened at Euharlee
Baptist Church. The building was ripped right down the middle by a tornado. It
remained that way for many years, with only “a wide piece of metal anchored on
each side” that made the wood floor uneven.[25]
Another disaster that has impacted these churches is hate crime. Two Baptist churches
in the county have been victims of vandalization in the past three decades.
Despite the struggles, the Baptist faith is stronger in Bartow County today
than ever before. According to the most recent findings, there are an estimated
112 individual Baptist churches that have existed in the county since it was
founded. An estimated 85-90% of these churches are still in operation today, doors
open to the population of Bartow. The denomination has been present for nearly
200 years and continues to grow; 5-10% of the current Baptist churches in the
county have been established in the last 25 years. With such a long history in
the area, it is important to understand how the physical presence of these
churches and their individuality based off their unique congregations come
together to meet community needs, encourage religious thought, and spread their
influence in the many communities of Bartow County.
Churches and Cemeteries on the Landscape
For the Baptist churches in Bartow
County, their primary foothold is planted with the acquisition of land. As
individual farms become neighborhoods and small communities, there comes a
point where people need a place to come and congregate together. For many of
the small, rural communities in Bartow County, the best place for this was the
community church. People in the early 1800s tended to be deeply religious compared
to modern society and desired a place to come together and worship. They could
build community with their neighbors instead of continuing to worship in their
homes alone, a practice many had been exercising for generations. However, the
meeting houses dotting the county landscape would not exist without the
property they sit on. Most of the early Baptist churches were built on land
that was donated to founding members to be used for religious purposes. This
donation of land is evidence of how the establishment of churches was a way of
creating community centers as people moved into the area.
Oothcalooga, one of the oldest
Baptist congregations in Bartow County, was also one of the first to receive
their land donated to them for the purpose of establishing a church. The land
for this church came from the Whiteside family, one of the first families to
move near modern-day Adairsville. Jonathan and Susannah King Whiteside came to
the area from North Carolina in 1830.[26]
They were known to be “earnest and content members of the Baptist Church” and
contributed to establishing a place of worship in their new-found home.[27]
Though the date is unknown, the Whitesides donated six acres to the trustees
for a church and a cemetery. The original deed recording this transaction was
destroyed in the Civil War, so a replacement deed was recorded in October 1868.[28]
In this record, it is stated the Whitesides donated the land “for and in
consideration of heretofore conveying the said for the use of the said church
as aforesaid, and being still desirous of promoting the interest of said church
and for the advancement of the cause of Christianity…”[29]
The Whitesides may have been the first, but they were not the only family to
donate land for churches to promote the Christian cause in Bartow County. This
is a practice that carried on well into the 20th century.
It is unique for the land to have
been 100% donated to the trustees of the church, as in the case of Oothcalooga
Baptist. Many churches transfer the land for the meager cost of $1.00. It was,
however, a consistent pattern for the deeds to include the stipulation if the
land were to stop being used for church purposes, the land would revert back to
the grantor and they would have the right to reclaim ownership. It is also
notable that such a majority of deeds made in this way were from women. The
deed to the land for Clear Creek Baptist Church hits each of these three
markers: the land was donated by Mrs. Elsie Lou Farmer in 1953 for $1.00 with
the stipulation the land would go back to the grantor if no longer used for
church purposes.[30] Etowah
Valley Baptist Church was also donated its land in October 1941 by Mrs. E. W.
Earwood.[31]
Another example is Fairview Baptist Church near ATCO, land donated for $1.00 by
Mrs. Annie Laurie Jones Cunyus in December 1937.[32]
All these churches were established on donated land. The Baptist faith in
Bartow County would not have had such a long history of being a root in the
development of these communities without having land to build places to congregate.
The presence of these churches on the landscape of Bartow today is a testament
to the sacrifice and donations these individuals and their families made to
make Baptist churches the center of community life.
Despite freely giving the land to be
used for religious purposes, not all donors gave the land without a cost. They
were spawning community development, but with their own provisions written into
the deed records. The first deed for the establishment of Oakland Heights
Baptist Church is an extreme case of what a stipulation could look like. The
land for the church, donated in February of 1954, was donated by C.C. Carroll,
one of the trustees of the future church. He donated the land as a testament to
his love of the gospel, concern for his fellow man, and “to support and aid in
the moral and religious advancement in his community.”[33]
Carroll did donate the land for the betterment of his community; however, he
had his requirements or the land would revert back to him. The following are
his terms and conditions as recorded in the deed:
That said property shall be used only for a place of worship
and religious education by the Methodist church, the Baptist church, and any
other Protestant religious organization which may be approved by the unanimous
vote and agreement of said trustees. That said church shall always maintain an
Holy Altar for prayer and repentance. That no disparing, vicious, malicious or
unkind statement of allegation shall be made by any preacher, speaker, or
teacher about the faith and belief of any other Protestant religion. That this
church shall never be affiliated with any organization and shall always remain
free, independent and unconnected with an organization. That in the event said
church shall cease to operate and fail to hold religious service for a period
of one year then said property shall revert to said Grantor his heirs and
assigns, and be his property in fee simple, and all interests of the Oakland
Heights Community Church in said property shall cease and be at an end forever.[34]
The land for the establishment of Oakland Heights was
donated very differently than the land for Oothcalooga. This land was donated with
more emphasis put on advancing the cause of Christianity and less on creating a
place of worship in a community without one. According to an interview with Ann
Nix Dussault and Betty Nix Cowart, contemporary church members that have been
there since the foundation of the church, the people that became members of
Oakland Heights had previously been attending church elsewhere.[35]
The establishment of Oakland helped the community on distance traveled to
church, and it created the first Baptist church in the community; however,
there was not an overwhelming need for the creation of a new church. The
lengthy list of stipulations in the above deed also confirm this fact. A
community in need of a church to take root would not be quite as picky about
its alter placement or affiliation with an organization.
Over time, the acquisition of land
evolved from needing land to build churches to instead needing land for
cemeteries. As communities around the churches grew, the practice of private,
family cemeteries faded and the dead were buried in church cemeteries, right
beside their neighbors. This need for land for cemeteries was also driven by
the population growth of the county. As more people moved into the area, there
was a greater need for places to bury the deceased. Today, less than two-thirds
of the Baptist churches in Bartow County have cemeteries associated with them.
However, these cemeteries are critical to understanding the people who lived in
these communities and their relations to one another.
The cemetery for Bethany Baptist
Church is one of the most diverse in the county. The exact establishment date
is believed to have been in the 1870s, but there are graves in the cemetery dating
back as early as the 1820s. There are three different sections of this
cemetery: the white and members of the church section, the African-American
slave section, and the Native American section. The two latter sections of the
cemetery are separated on the west side together. Church tradition is they took
care of and cleaned the white section of the cemetery, while blacks who had
ancestors in the African-American cemetery came to clean the other. No one
comes to care for the Native American section; in fact, most of this section
was grave-robbed prior to 1945 and it is uncertain there is anything left in the
section. To stand in this cemetery, however, you can feel the racial tensions
that once existed in the area.[36]
After World War II, more land is
needed for the building of new and larger church buildings than needed to
increase sizes of cemeteries. Population and community involvement are booming,
forcing new churches to be established and old churches to build bigger
facilities. A similar wave of development happened again in the late 1990s and
early 2000s. In these phases of church land growth, there is a noticeable
reversal of the relationship between the church and the community. In land
gains prior to World War II, it was the community making efforts, such as
donating land or helping raise the funds, to support the church. After this
transition back, however, records make it clear it was the church working
within itself to attempt to increase its influence in the community.
The best example of this reversal of
the relationship between the church and the community in the 1990s is at
Heritage Baptist Church, one of the youngest Baptist churches in Bartow County.
The unique story behind this church is key to understanding how the
relationship has changed. Over time, churches have strayed from their traditions
so they may meet a wider audience of patrons. In 1987, a group of about one
hundred people in the First Baptist Church of Cartersville congregation formed
a new church to accommodate Bartow County’s growing population, as the
congregation at the First Baptist Church of Cartersville had outgrown their current
building.[37]
The new congregation began to meet on the second floor of the C&S Bank of
Cartersville in 1987. They remained in
this location for two years while building a church at its current location.
Work on this facility was completed by September of 1993. This church was born
with a drive to be a progressive, inclusive church.[38]
One of the first things they did to ensure their foundation in this ideology
was to draft their own, personalized Church Covenant. This living document
preserved the vision the founders had of creating an inclusive church. The
first draft was introduced in 1989; however, in keeping in tone with the church
ideology, it is occasionally reviewed and updated. The changes in the covenant
are as constant as the changes in the congregation, so it continuously reflects
the calling of the church.[39]
Another way in which the church has been progressive is through supporting
equality for men and women in the church. From the beginning, “women and men
have shared equally in leadership at Heritage, including the role of ministers
and deacons”.[40]
One of the first examples of this is when Ms. Rachel Lackey was called to be
full time Minister of Music and Youth in 1988. She was later ordained by the
congregation in 1991.[41]
To a modern church-goer, what
happened at Heritage Baptist Church does not sound radical. The church it is
today is no different from other non-denominational megachurches in the area.
The things Heritage did, however, where a first for the Baptist faith in Bartow
County. It radically changed the game. This church was established for the sole
purpose of appealing to a wider congregation; to lower their barriers and be
more inclusive of those with all sorts of ideas about religious doctrine. At
Heritage, the doctrine can change with the congregation as it changes over
time. Since this instance with Heritage, other churches have followed in its
footsteps. The most recent example is Vision Baptist Church, which was founded
in 2012. The minister who founded this church was driven by his desire to
create a more biblical, New Testament church.[42]
This is a perfect example of how Baptist churches use their freedom and
individuality in their congregation to accomplish their purpose. To a passerby,
each building blurs together, the churches inseparable from the rest. However,
the property and the physical building of these churches can tell the world a
lot about how the people came to live in the area and why their Baptist faith
was important to them.
Different Types of Structures and
Their Purposes
Apart from the actual changes of
land ownership of the Baptist churches of Bartow County throughout the years
that led to these churches being at the center of community life, what these
churches developed on these tracts of land remain as a testament to the ebb and
flow of religious dedication that sprouted out of the foundational roots in the
area. They also give contemporaries a sense of the importance of these church
sites as education centers, organizational centers, and overall periods of
increase in church attendance. Some see such an increase they become career
centers, hiring full-time employees and even providing housing for “career
pastors” and their families. However, each Baptist church has had the freedom
to choose their own pace of expansion, leading some to have progressed more
than others.
After the turn of the century, there
was an increased desire in these small rural communities to provide children
with an education, not only a religious education but a secular one as well.
From the 1900s through the 1920s, many churches are established with this
purpose in mind. The buildings provide religious education on Sunday, then
reading, writing, and arithmetic on the weekdays. In some cases, the school was
established before a congregation laid claim to the building. A similar
increase in educational interest is seen again in the 1950s. Previously
established congregations expand and build larger educational facilities.
However, these tended to only meet the needs of religious education. Standard
schooling was now managed at the county level. Deed records show despite this
church-and-state separation, they were still very much interconnected with each
other, as the Bartow County Board of Education often sold land to churches yet
maintained the right to reclaim it if it was needed once more for educational
purposes.[43]
In the past twenty-five years, the churches have reemerged on the scene of
combined religious and state education by opening private schools. Several of
the larger Baptist congregations in the county operate private schools at the
church site. In the educational marks on the land alone, it is easy to see how
dedication to religious education has waned to only a select few in the course
of a little over 100 years.
It is a widely accepted fact for
centuries, churches have not only been places of worship, but served a dual
purpose of also being places to receive an education. For many of the small,
rural churches spread across the county, their roots are in both secular
education and religious purposes. One of the earliest examples of this is at
Euharlee Baptist Church, known in the 1800s as Mount Paran Baptist Church. The
exact date Mount Paran was established is unknown; however, Coosa Association
records indicate church activity in the 1840s[44].
By 1853, the church had established Mount Paran School in the community by an
act of legislature. It was two private schools, one for girls and one for boys,
operated for roughly forty years before the buildings burned.[45]
Though providing education to the community, it is unusual that the school was
private. It was much more common for churches to be expanding their roots in
the community through offering the first public schools in the area.
Mount Pisgah Baptist Church is an
example of one such church. The church itself was formerly established in 1913.[46]
Prior to this, people in the small area of Cave, Georgia, were having revival
meetings and regular worship services in a brush harbor, since the nearest
Baptist churches were several miles away in Kingston and Cassville.[47]
It was in 1913 when they got together to build a meeting house. Due to the
issue of distance, Mount Pisgah also became home to the local school in the
area. However, this was only very brief before all the schools in Bartow County
were consolidated in the 1920s.[48]
A similar situation was happening north of Mount Pisgah decades earlier at
Pleasant Valley Baptist Church. In the 1830s, couple John and Winnie Reagan
moved into the rural area and saw a need for a church and a schoolhouse in the
community. They built a log cabin on the family land that was used for both
purposes for many years.[49]
Another example is Pine Log Baptist Church of Christ, located on the east side
of the county. The deed that donated the original land to the church
specifically states that is was donated with the purpose of being a place to
hold public worship and fulfill school purposes.[50]
These examples just show the roots of Baptist churches and schools were very
much intertwined in the early days of Bartow County.
On some occasions, the school
actually came before the establishment of the church. These were communities
that turned to educational priorities prior to religiously dedicating
themselves. The schools that came after churches were collectively established
later than the schools that came before churches. The earliest example is
outside the Rydal community at Oak Hill Baptist Church. This church was
formerly established in 1875. However, prior to this formal establishment, the
congregation had been meeting at the local school, and continued to meet there
until in 1898, when a local physician named Dr. Baker donated land for a
cemetery and a new church to be built, which was finished in 1902.[51]
A similar case happened at Snow Springs Baptist Church in the rural area west
of Adairsville. Founding members meet in the local Davis School House on August
15, 1886 when they officially organized the church.[52]
ATCO Baptist Church was organized in the exact same way, meeting in the
auditorium of ATCO School on November 27, 1909, to organize a Baptist church.[53]
Floyd Creek Baptist Church is another in the county that came out of a
schoolhouse. It was meeting at the Snatch Pone one room schoolhouse prior to receiving
its own land to build a church in the 1880s.[54]
The best example of the relationship
between the school and church developing their roots together at the start of a
community was in the Crossroads community, which was in the far-out rural areas
of the southwest corner of the county. Bethel Crossroads Baptist Church was
established in 1900 by residents of the Crossroads School community.[55]
They met for services in a brush arbor until they secured property near the
Crossroads School House in 1902 and constructed a building there. Confusion
about the proper name of the church also comes from its proximity to the
school. The official name of the church has always been Bethel Baptist Church.
For many years, however, it was referred to as Crossroads Baptist Church
because of its location at the intersection of two roads and its location near
the school.[56]
The consolidation of Bartow County
schools separated the roots of the churches and schools in small communities as
they had been for decades. However, they still remain intertwined. Deed records
in Bartow County show the Bartow County School system, when consolidating the
schools, gained the land these schoolhouses and church buildings sat upon.
There are several churches that received their land from the Bartow County
school system once the county schools that served a larger area were
established. Dewey Baptist Church was one of these churches. It is unknown
whether the church existed prior to this land arrangement, but in July of 1923,
the Bartow County Board of Education released one acre of land to Dewey Baptist
Church.[57]
Stoner Chapel Baptist Church was another that received their land from the
board of education. On October 26, 1944, Stoner Chapel received roughly one
acre of land for and in consideration of $1 to build their church.[58]
However, there is a stipulation in the deed: “when the property herein conveyed
ceases to be used for church purposes, it reverts back to the grantor herein.”[59]
It is interesting the county school system kept their claim to the land,
showing for the first-time secular education priorities instead of an
intertwined relationship between the church and the state.
For some, the public-school system
cannot provide the desired type of education they want their children to have.
Because of this, there has been an increase in private schools run by churches
cropping up among the biggest churches in the area. This is not a new idea in
Bartow County: there have been three separate religious colleges operated in
the region at one time or another, the Cherokee Baptist College, the Sam Jones
Female College, and the Antioch Bible Baptist College. The Cherokee Baptist
College, in fact, was established by Adairsville Baptist Church and later
became a part of the Bartow County School System, transformed into Adairsville
Elementary, Middle, and High Schools.[60]
Recent trends, however, have been to religious education for younger children.
Most of the churches operating schools today are running private preschool
programs. This exemplifies a rededication to the Baptist faith in the last few
decades happening across Bartow County at the bigger churches who can afford to
operate a school.
Tabernacle Baptist Church, located
in downtown Cartersville, operates the oldest known church-run schools by a Baptist
church in the county. They operate a weekday preschool program and kindergarten
program at the church established in 1964. According to the church’s website,
“the purpose of the preschool is to offer families in our community a program
that combines the highest standards in early childhood education within a
Christian environment where children can grow spiritually, physically
intellectually, emotionally, and socially.”[61]
This purpose behind the creation of the school would not have come about
without people looking to provide a more religious foundation for their
children in their education. This is reinforced further in the descriptions of
the four classes the church offers. In each class description, the religious
element of the class content is emphasized and detailed. The Bible is taught
through various methods in each of the classes, the main thread in each of the
classes.[62]
There are two other prominent
Baptist churches in Bartow County that offer private schools for the youth. Grace
Baptist Church, a church that emerged from the former Gilmer Street Baptist Church (now the site of the Booth Western Art Museum) and Tabernacle Baptist Church,
operates a pre-K through 12th grade at their location on Old
Cassville White Road. The second was developed more recently at Oakland Heights
Baptist Church. Since its establishment in 2012, it has grown slowly, with only
35 students enrolled in the past year. The creation of the facilities was part
of a 2.3 million expansion of the church completed in 2010. Its set up is
fairly similar to that of Tabernacle Baptist Church. Despite the school
currently being on the small side, it is easy to see that the church would not
feel it necessary to operate such a school if there was not a demand for it in
the community. Hence, religious dedication through education lives on in Bartow
County.[63]
Though few have turned to operating
their own preschools as a method of furthering the Christian message in the
county, a simpler alternative has been for many to expand their youth
ministries. They are using these institutions instead to support growing
religious education. One prime example is Cartersville First Baptist Church.
Every Sunday morning and Wednesday night, they operate their preschool ministry
entitled “The Nest.” Through it, they reach their birth through pre-school
audience, helping them to develop a foundation in religious education. However,
to accommodate for being only a twice-weekly service, The Nest ministry at
Cartersville First Baptist issues a monthly newsletter entitled “Parent Cue.”[64]
It is a supplemental at-home guide to furthering religious education beyond the
twice-weekly in person lessons at the church. The October 2018 issue includes
the scripture covered in each week’s classes, major themes for the month, and
strategies to engage with the lessons at home.[65]
These items encourage a continuous conversation about Christian lessons,
demonstrating the push for dedicated, religious lives in these church
communities today.
There is a lengthy and close
relationship between schools and churches. From being established in the same
building to be conceived by the same people, it was not until the consolidation
of schools their pillars in the community were separated. Despite the emphasis
put on secular education, many of the Baptist churches put more emphasis on
religious education for their congregations. This dedication to religiously
educate the masses has been recorded in the dozens of church renovations and
expansions include additions of educational spaces, such as Sunday school
classrooms and annexes. Sunday school has been one of the biggest pushes from
within the church to deepen their roots and community holdings.
The biggest wave in expansion for
educational purposes came after the 1940s, in response to the secular schools
pulling out of association with the churches. These facilities may not have
been needed for reading, writing, and arithmetic students, but they certainly
needed to be bigger to accommodate more Sunday school students. This spawned
the need for churches to build bigger and better educational facilities.
Taylorsville Baptist Church has made three such changes to its church site in
less than 60 years. First, in 1951-1954, a nursery and annex building were
added to the church. More education space was included in the expansions of
1978. Lastly, in 2012, a building project was started to add even more
classrooms and educational resource spaces. This example proves how much of a
common practice it was for churches centered in the larger communities to make
such expansions for educational purposes.[66]
Most Baptist churches did not go to such extreme efforts. They did small
renovations, yet they still contributed to the cause of expanding educational
facilities. At Oak Grove Baptist Church, the first Sunday rooms were added in
1959, only three short years after the new church building was finished.[67]
Many churches have grown to include educational facilities throughout the years
to further the cause of religious education. None of this would be possible
without the dedication of the community members to providing their children
with ample opportunity to both secular and religious education. Other expansions
have been made within these Baptist church sites for purposes other than
education that follow similar patterns.
Educational spaces have not been the
only way in which Baptist church sites have expanded. As the sizes of
congregations grew in the 1970s, it becomes necessary for the Baptist churches
of Bartow County to build bigger sanctuaries to accommodate the growing
populations. There are three peaks in this trend: one, with the first wave of
people migrating into the area in the 1830s, 40s, and 50s; second, in the
1910s-1920s right before the Great Depression; and third, in the 1970s, 80s,
and 90s. These peaks are consistent with the population growth of the county.
When more people arrived, there was a greater need for space in the church houses
around the county. It is a testament to the religious dedication that exists in
this area of the country to how church attendance- among the Baptist faith
alone- has continued to increase with population.
The biggest congregations of Baptist
churches have reached new levels of religious dedication by converting from
volunteer leadership to career institutions. Smaller, rural churches are led by
volunteers, people who dedicate time and effort into leadership positions of
the church without being paid. They work regular jobs, live regular lives
Monday-Saturday, fulfilling their roles in the church on Sunday. Growing
congregations, however, have led bigger churches to make a change in how they
fulfill their leadership positions. Today, there are individuals who dedicate
their entire lives to the church, fulfilling roles such as pastor for a career
instead of a voluntary job. This was not only the decision of individuals;
churches encouraged this movement. One reflection of this is in the building of
pastoriums. Large Baptist churches in Bartow County have been doing this for
decades- they acquire houses for their pastors and their families to live in
while they are at a particular church. This is the ultimate example of
continuous dedication to religion within the community. Not only are
congregation members paying for the pastor’s salary, they are also providing
him a free place to live in exchange for his seven-days-a-week service to the
congregation.
The practice of providing pastoriums
for pastors and their families started much earlier than one would imagine in
Bartow County. At the 1846 meeting of the Coosa Association, one of the topics
discussed was “urging of the churches to support the pastor so he would not
have to work,” an early example of the thinking that led to pastoriums.[68]
Cartersville First Baptist Church was mostly likely the earliest to have a
pastorium, acquiring their first one in 1890. It cost $1000 to build and was
located across from the church’s location at the time.[69]
Since the building of this initial pastorium, many more of the Baptist churches
have adapted this practice as part of their property possessions. Friendship
Baptist Church also had a pastorium.[70]
Snow Springs Baptist Church had to build their own; however, the land was
donated by Carl Smith for this purpose in 1969.[71]
In 1972, Cassville Baptist Church purchased what was known as the Headden home
to be used as a pastorium.[72]
The acquisition of a pastorium is a way to support the congregation’s decision
to go in the direction towards a career staff instead of volunteers, an
indication of community’s devotion to their church and faith.
Spread of Influence in the Community
Baptist churches have repeatedly
been a rudimentary factor in the development of communities all across the
Appalachians, like current trends that are present in Bartow County, Georgia.
Their properties reflect how they are continuously supported by community
members as the area grows and develops. The land and the people around these
churches are tightly wound together, and the buildings that go on to these
properties are physical representations of the community’s dedication to have a
church as a worship center, an educational facility, and a home for
organizational activity. Decades of support from the communities surrounding these
churches have led them to become one of the leading influential institutions in
their respective communities. Over time, this has led churches to assert their
positions and take a more active role in spreading their influence. Churches
have moved locations and even changed their names to emphasize their position
in society. Many Baptist congregations have also become heavily involved in the
local missionary field to spread their influence. In these ways, the Baptists
of Bartow County have embraced their leadership in community development and
have planted new roots on the landscape.
A Baptist church moving locations
does not exactly seem like it would be about spreading their influence in
Bartow County. However, the struggle between Adairsville Baptist Church and
Oothcalooga Baptist Church to become the “it” church of the Adairsville
community in the 1880s proves otherwise. The location of a church within a
community says a lot about the influence it strives to have on the population.
Adairsville Baptist Church and Oothcalooga Baptist Church initially started as
one church that grew out of the Moravian mission located near the current
settlement of Adairsville.[73]
The original church, Oothcalooga Church, was started on land donated by the
Whitesides family in 1837; however, it is speculated that this was the date
that the church at the mission site moved from the village further into
Adairsville.[74]
This first change of location coincides with Natives being forced from the
area. Once the Natives were removed, the church was no longer needed at the
Moravian mission but instead needed by the community of white settlers that had
driven the Natives out of the area.
In 1864, Oothcalooga Church was
burned to the ground by Sherman’s army passing through the area.[75]
As a result of this, the church moved again to an old school house in the heart
of town. The congregation met here until 1871. Interestingly, in this year, the
Oothcalooga Baptist Church entered into a deed with three other churches in the
area: the Presbyterian church, Cumberland Presbyterian church, and the Southern
Methodist church. From 1871-1882, four denominations met in the same meeting
house, each on a different Sunday of the month. For example, Oothcalooga met on
the second Sunday of each month. By 1880, not all of the church members were
happy with this arrangement. Historians do not know exactly why fifteen members
were dismissed by letter that year, but there is speculation that these members
were not satisfied that the Oothcalooga meeting house had not yet been rebuilt.
However, it was felt that the old location was now too inconvenient and too
muddy to consider rebuilding there. A second theory is that “a town as
prosperous as Adairsville needed its own church.”[76]
Whatever the cause, Adairsville Missionary Baptist Church was formed on
February 29, 1880 in the home of Mr. and Mrs. R. D. Combs. They met in a
building on Gilmer Street in downtown Adairsville owned by Mr. Combs.
The churches met separately for five
years, until 1885. There is no record of what the relationship was like between
these two churches during those five years, but it is recorded that the
churches had the same pastor between 1882-1884. There were enough people that
the two congregations could afford to meet separately, but not enough
ministers. Things escalated in the fall of 1884 when the Adairsville Baptist Church
started plans to build on the other side of the railroad tracks. The planning
even went so far that Mrs. Cordelia Frances Gaines deeded a lot to the church
that was never used. For some unknown reason, this donation of land caused a
“flurry of action.”[77]
Not even a month had passed before both Adairsville Missionary and Oothcalooga
drafted a proposition and approached each other about reuniting the congregations.
An agreement was reached and both churches set up committees to find a location
to build a new, unified church. Adairsville Baptist Church was already looking
for a new site to build a church and even had land deeded to them for that
purpose. Oothcalooga, however, had recently finished building a brand-new
church at the old Oothcalooga church site, where it had been prior to the Civil
War. Researchers have wrestled with why Oothcalooga would agree to be looking
to build another church in town. According to One Vine, Two Branches, “oral tradition has it that as the talk of
building a Baptist church in Adairsville increased, the more the leaders at Oothcalooga
wanted their church to be “The Church” in Adairsville.”[78]
Though the churches still completed
the merge, many Oothcalooga members where alienated by the building of a second
new church. It is believed that the new site building committees at both
churches would not have been set up if there had not been dissatisfaction with
the Gaines lot. It was thought to be inconvenient and even on the wrong side of
the tracks. Mrs. G. B. Elrod was vocal about her unhappiness with the Gaines
lot and donated a lot next to her house on the other side of town as an
alternative.[79]
Mrs. Elrod’s lot was quickly chosen, and the church was completed on the land
by September. The churches were nearly $1,000.00 in debt after building this
church. On September 19, 1885, the two churches reunited at the new location as
Oothcalooga Baptist Church of Christ at Adairsville. A few months later, it was
decided that the new abandoned Oothcalooga church would be sold. A resolution
about this in January 1886 reads as follows:
Whereas: in the covenant or contract between Oothcalooga
Baptist Church and the Adairsville Baptist Church and they did unite and form
one church in Adairsville, Ga, retaining the name of Oothcalooga; the property
of both churches becoming the property of the newly constituted church. And
whereas in the building of the new house of worship the disaffected members
refusing to bear any part in the expense thereof. This church has become
involved and is now due on said building about $450 for the payment of which
said church is being pressed.[80]
By March, these disaffected members that had not contributed
to the payments towards the building and were the same ones who had been
alienated by the merge withdrew their membership from Oothcalooga Baptist
Church of Christ at Adairsville. In April 1886, they were granted permission to
have meetings in the old Oothcalooga building, while remaining members at the
Baptist Church of Christ had the church debt individually appointed to them.[81]
The feud finally came to an end in 1892 when the churches split once more. Then
as it is today and has been for over 100 years, the original Oothcalooga church
site became the home of Oothcalooga Baptist Church and the church in the town
of Adairsville became Adairsville Baptist Church.
A map of the town today shows that
there is irony in the fight between these churches for location within the town
of Adairsville. When the churches split in 1880, Oothcalooga remained at the Presbyterian
church, which is today Grey’s Chapel AME Church, and the Adairsville Missionary
Baptist Church ended up in a building on Gilmer Street, just 0.3 miles away.
After the second split of the churches, Adairsville Baptist Church came to rest
today on the old school house site from after the Civil War, the same land that
was donated by Mrs. Gaines. From here to the once unified church that met at
Gray’s Chapel AME, there are three houses and one-tenth of a mile that separate
the two buildings. From this present site of Adairsville Baptist Church to the
current location of Oothcalooga Baptist Church, there are two left turns and
1.6 miles of highway. It is comical that a congregation split up for less than
two miles of distance from each other. This situation, however, shows how
important the sphere of influence a congregation can have in a community within
the Baptist faith. These churches thrive in conditions where they are the heart
of the community and can spread their roots among as many people as possible.
The churches that cannot afford to
physically move their church, or possibly to reflect their movement into
another community, change their name to tie themselves closer to their place in
the area. There are several churches that moved from rural areas into towns and
changed their name to reflect their move. One such example is Cartersville
First Baptist Church. When the church started in 1839, it was called Pettit’s
Creek Baptist Church. In 1856, it “moved to new building on Market Street, now
Cherokee Avenue, and changed name to Cartersville Baptist Church.”[82]
The church moved several times around the town before becoming Cartersville
First Baptist Church in 1906. Another example is Taylorsville Baptist Church.
Originally called Salem, the church became Taylorsville Baptist Church
twenty-three years after it had relocated into town.[83]
Cassville Baptist Church is similar, starting out as Beulah Baptist Church and
changing its name after it moved into the Cassville community in 1848.[84]
Though the name on the sign outside the church may seem like it does not mean
much, it is indeed quite the contrary. The name of the church says a lot about
who the congregation thinks they are and their role in the community. Churches
named after the towns they preside in seem to foster more respect and position.
It is important to the community and its members because it bears the same
name. There is a sense of connection that cannot be separated, roots
intertwined with one another.
Missionary work is one of the
biggest ways in which the Baptist churches of Bartow County spread their
influence and faith around the area. Charlotte Diggs “Lottie” Moon, one of the
most iconic Baptist international missionaries, was inspired to go overseas.
She was living in Cartersville and it was there, at Cartersville First Baptist
Church, where she heard the sermon that thrust her into the missionary field.[85]
With leaders such as Lottie Moon active in missionary work, others in the
county followed suit. Over the years, many of the Baptist churches have
established organizations within their churches that are the leaders in
missionary work. Standard organizations of this type were often run by the
women of the church. At Cassville Baptist Church, the first missionary society
was organized, on June 17, 1903, by the women of the church. At their monthly
meetings, they took up an offering for foreign missions. In September and
October of their first year they collected $1.68, which is nearly $50.00 by
today’s standards.[86]
Small organizations like this one have kept the missionary spirit spreading
throughout the county.
Apart from the churches themselves,
there is another organization in the county that has been active in spreading
the missionary cause of the Baptists: the Bartow Baptist Association.
Associations are quite common in the Baptist world. They are churches who unite
under this one umbrella “for the purposes of: fellowship, strengthening the
local churches, and cooperative in the joint mission…”[87]
The Bartow Baptist Association started in 1846 as the Salaquoy United Baptist
Association, changed to Middle Cherokee Baptist Association in 1848, and
finally to Bartow Baptist Association in 1999.[88]
Like Oothcalooga Baptist Church and Adairsville Baptist Church, this
association traces its roots back to the Moravian mission. That is also where
they claim their philosophy of “prayer, unity, and missions” comes from.[89]
This alliance helps the Baptist churches of the county to come together and
work alongside each other to spread their mission and influence locally,
domestically, and internationally. The head of the association, David Franklin,
speaks of one occasion where the churches truly came together to help each and
every community in Bartow after a crisis. There have been two devastating
tornadoes that hurt large parts of the northwest section of the county in the
past decade, one in 2011 and another in 2013.[90]
Volunteers from the churches in this association came together to lead the
relief efforts. They had all the debris cleaned up in just four short weeks.
The way in which these churches came together and provided quick relief changed
and improved the county’s emergency relief plan. Today, other areas in the
state are starting to mimic this design to incorporate churches. The Bartow
Baptist Association proved that churches have the people and ability to
mobilize very quickly. This is just one way in which the sphere of influence in
missionary work in the Baptist churches of Bartow County is now reaching other
areas. The association is active in Bartow in other ways, particularly in their
youth programs. According to David Franklin, this faith-based recovery model
has been recognized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and is
recommended for other similar faith-based organizations to follow. Each summer,
the alliance puts on SPLASH Bartow, which reaches over 400 teens and kids.
Additionally, BBA recently kickstarted their Read to Grow program, which is
putting over 100 volunteers in the local schools to help improve 3rd
grade reading proficiency.[91]
This is another example of how the churches come together to spread their
missions and goals through the tradition of missionary work in the county.
Baptist churches are all unique and individual
from each other. They function independently and as a reflection of their
congregations and the communities they are a part of. Two churches next door to
each other could be as different as night and day. Despite the many variations amongst
Baptist churches, it is a part of their legacy that they have been fundamental
to the establishment of communities. The Baptist churches of Bartow County capture
the way in which these churches are cornerstones in their societies. They have
evolved over time to reflect change. These churches have established their
roots by gaining property, building structures, and establishing cemeteries all
across the county. They have become intertwined in the history of Bartow
through their role in community development via education. Additionally, the
Baptist have perpetuated their influence by situating themselves front and
center in these communities and by continuing to make a difference with
missionary work. The landscape of Baptist churches in Bartow County encapsulates
their role in the religious dedication, role in society, and spread of
influence in the makeup of community life in regions of the southern
Appalachian.
Appendix
List
of Baptist Churches in Bartow County, Georgia: Sorted Alphabetically
- Adairsville
Baptist Church- 107 Summer Street,
Adairsville, GA 30103 - Antioch
Baptist Bible Church- 5871 Glade Road SE,
Acworth, GA 30102 - ATCO
Baptist Church- 20 Parmenter Street,
Cartersville, GA 30120 - Bethany
Baptist Church- 42 Old Alabama Road SE, Emerson,
GA 30137 - Bethel
Baptist Church- 121 College Street,
Adairsville, GA 30103 - Bethel
Crossroads Baptist Church- 450 Iron Hill
Road, Taylorsville, GA 30178 - Bible
Way Baptist Church- 29 Marr Road SW,
Cartersville, GA 30120 - Brandon’s
Chapel Baptist Church- 136 Old Stilesboro
Road SW, Cartersville, GA 30120 - Calvary
Heights Baptist Church- 4002 Joe Frank
Harris Pkwy NW, Cartersville, GA 30120 - Cartersville
First Baptist Church- 241 Douthit Ferry
Road, Cartersville, GA 30120 - Cassville
Baptist Church- 1663 Cassville Road NW,
Cartersville, GA 30121 - Cedar
Creek Baptist Church- 54 Folsom Road NW,
Adairsville, GA 30103 - Center
Baptist Church- 80 McKaskey Creek Road
SE, Cartersville, GA 30121 - Central
Baptist Church- 324 Cassville Road,
Cartersville, GA 30120 - Clear
Creek Baptist Church- 142 Clear Creek
Road, Cartersville, GA 30121 - Cloverleaf
Missionary Baptist Church- 1117 Grassdale
Rd. NW, Cartersville, GA 30121 - Connesena
Baptist Church- 71 Connesena Road,
Kingston, GA 30145 - Corinth
Baptist Church- 16 Corinth Road, Cartersville,
GA 30121 - Cornerstone
Baptist Church- 2238 Hills Creek Road,
Taylorsville, GA 30178 - Crowe
Springs Baptist Church- 290 Crowe Springs
Road NW, Cartersville, GA 30121 - Damascus
Baptist Church- 174 Gaston Westbrook Ave,
Emerson, GA 30137 - Dewey
Baptist Church- 895 Spring Place Road NE,
White, GA 30184 - Dry
Creek Baptist Church- 150 Dry Creek Road
NW, Kingston, GA 30145 - Etowah
Valley Baptist Church- 1052 Old Alabama
Road SW, Cartersville, GA 30120 - Euharlee
Baptist Church- 1103 Euharlee Road SW,
Euharlee, GA 30145 - Euharlee
Primitive Baptist Church at Buncombe- Location
unknown - Fairview
Baptist Church- 26 Fairview Drive SE,
Cartersville, GA 30120 - Faith
Baptist Church- 1024 Mission Road SW,
Cartersville, GA 30120 - Faith
Baptist Church of Kingston- 15 Carroll
Slough Road, Kingston, GA 30145 - Fellowship
Baptist Church of Cartersville- Location
unknown - Fellowship
Baptist Church of White- 79 East Rocky
Street NE, White, GA 30184 - First
Baptist Church of Emerson- 11 Franklin
Loop SE, Cartersville, GA 30120 - Five
Forks Baptist Church- 266 Cass Pine Log
Road NE, White, GA 30184 - Floyd Creek Baptist Church- 2171 Hills Creek Road, Taylorsville, GA 30178
- Friendship
Baptist Church- 606 Cassville Road,
Cartersville, GA 30120 - Friendship
Missionary Baptist Church- 128 Martin
Luther King Dr., Adairsville, GA 30103 - Glade
Baptist Church- 401 Folsom Glade Road,
Rydal, GA 30171 - Glade
Baptist Church- Location unknown - Glade
Missionary Baptist Church- Location
unknown - Glade
Road Baptist Church- 6570 Glade Road SE,
Acworth, GA 30102 - Grace
Baptist Church- 477 Old Cassville White
Road NW, Cartersville, GA 30121 - Greater
Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church- 65
Mount Olive St., Cartersville, GA 30120 - Greater
New Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church- 69
Cassville Rd., Cartersville, GA 30120 - Heritage
Baptist Church- 1070 Douthit Ferry Road,
Cartersville, GA 30120 - Iron
Hill Baptist Church- 5172 Groovers
Landing Road SE, Acworth, GA 30101 - Kingston
Baptist Church- 40 Main Street, Kingston,
GA 30145 - Kingston Colored Baptist Church- Location unknown
- Lakeside
Baptist Church- Location unknown - Liberty
Hill Baptist Church- 1120 Sugar Valley
Road SW, Cartersville, GA 30120 - Macedonia
Baptist Church- 1810 Euharlee Road,
Kingston, GA 30145 - Macedonia
Missionary Baptist Church- 521 Martin
Luther King, Jr. Dr., Cartersville, GA 30120 - Macedonia
Primitive Baptist Church- 180 Mansfield
Road NE, White, GA 30184 - Manassas
Baptist Church- Location unknown - Millers
Chapel Baptist Church- 285 Stamp Creek
Road NE, White, GA 30184 - Mount
Cary Baptist Church- Location unknown - Mount
Paron Baptist Church- Location unknown - Mount
Pisgah Baptist Church- 465 GA-293,
Cartersville, GA 30121 - Mount
Pleasant Baptist Church- 550 Mount
Pleasant Road, Rydal, GA 30171 - Mount
Tabor Baptist Church- 3071 Old Alabama
Road, Aragon, GA 30104 - Mount
Zion Baptist Church- 147 Jones Street,
Cartersville, GA 30120 - Mount
Zion Grassdale Missionary Baptist Church- 207
N. Bartow St., Cartersville, GA 30120 - Mount
Zion Missionary Baptist Church- 147 Jones
Street, Cartersville, GA 30120 - New
Beginning Baptist Church- 205 Colonel
Way, White, GA 30184 - New
Canaan Baptist Church- 1883 Joe Frank
Harris Pkwy SE, Cartersville, GA 30120 - New
Corinth Missionary Baptist Church- 210
Cliff Nelson Road, Euharlee, GA 30145 - New
Hope Baptist Church- 106 Fire Tower Road
NW, Cartersville, GA 30120 - New
Hope Baptist Church- 3800 New Hope Church
Road SE, Acworth, GA 30102 - New
Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church- 85 Shaw
Street, Kingston, GA 30145 - New Stamp Creek Baptist Church- Location unknown
- New
Zion Baptist Church- 5670 Tasha Trail,
Cartersville, GA 30120 - Oak
Grove Baptist Church- 312 Burnt Hickory
Road, Cartersville, GA 30120 - Oak
Hill Baptist Church- GA- 140, Rydal, GA
30171 - Oakland
Heights Baptist Church- 16 Highland Way
NE, Cartersville, GA 30121 - Olive
Vine Baptist Church- 132 Olive Vine
Church Road, Rydal, GA 30171 - Oothcalooga
Baptist Church- 10 Woody Road,
Adairsville, GA 30103 - Peeples
Valley Baptist Church- 68 Ledford Lane
NW, Cartersville, GA 30121 - Pine
Grove Baptist Church- 93 Pine Grove Road,
Cartersville, GA 30120 - Pleasant
Grove Missionary Baptist Church- 668
Burnt Hickory Rd., Cartersville, GA 30120 - Pleasant
Hill Baptist Church- 1370 Kingston
Highway, Kingston, GA 30145 - Pleasant
Hill Missionary Baptist Church- 1020
Mission Road SW, Cartersville, GA 30120 - Pleasant
Olive Baptist Church- 240 Falling Springs
Road, Rydal, GA 30171 - Pleasant
Valley Baptist Church- 174 Mostellers
Mill Road, Adairsville, GA 30103 - Raccoon
Creek Baptist Church- 1808 GA-113,
Cartersville, GA 30120 - Reynolds
Chapel Baptist Church- 2401 Euharlee Road
SE, Taylorsville, GA 30178 - Rowland
Springs Baptist Church- 79 Rowland
Springs Road SE, Cartersville, GA 30121 - Shiloh
Missionary Baptist Church- 26 Shiloh
Church Road, Taylorsville, GA 30178 - Snow
Springs Baptist Church- 221 Old Highway
140, Adairsville, GA 30103 - St. Paul Baptist Church- Location unknown
- Stamp
Creek Baptist Church- 451 Stamp Creek
Road NE, White, GA 30184 - Stoner
Chapel Baptist Church- 26 Stoners Chapel
Road NW, Adairsville, GA 30103 - Tabernacle
Baptist Church of Cartersville- 112 East
Church St., Cartersville, GA 30120 - Taylorsville
Baptist Church- 19 Church Street,
Taylorsville, GA 30178 - Trinity
Baptist Church- 1511 Joe Frank Harris
Parkway SE, Cartersville, GA 30121 - Vision
Baptist Church- 10 Legacy Way,
Adairsville, GA 30103 - White
First Baptist Church- 3347 US-411, White,
GA 30184 - Woffords
Crossroads Baptist Church- 222 Old
Tennessee Highway, White, GA 30184 - Young
Street Baptist Church- 6 Rogers Street,
Cartersville, GA 30120 - Zion
Hill Baptist Church- 1105 Mission Road
SW, Cartersville, GA 30120
Bibliography
“About Us.” Southern
Baptist Convention. Accessed November 25, 2018, http://www.sbc.net/aboutus/.
Article entitled “A Brief
History of ATCO Baptist Church,” located at the Bartow History Museum Archives.
Baker, David J. “Mt.
Pisgah Baptist Church.” Bartow County Georgia Heritage Book. Vol. 1.
Cartersville: Bartow County Genealogical Society, 1995. 41.
“Baptists:
What Makes a Baptist a Baptist.” Baptist Distinctives. Accessed on November 25,
2018. https://www.baptistdistinctives.org/resources/articles/what-makes-a-baptist-a-baptist/.
Bartow
County Genealogical Society. Bartow
County Georgia Heritage Book Volume I. Acworth, Georgia: Star Printing,
1995.
Bartow County
Genealogical Society. Bartow County
Georgia Heritage Book Volume II. Acworth, Georgia: Star Printing, 1998.
Bearden, Hermon.
“Cassville Baptist Church.” Bartow County
Georgia Heritage Book. Vol. 1. Acworth, Georgia: Star Printing, 1995.
Bell, Mark. “Continued
Captivity: Religion in Bartow County, Georgia.” The Journal of Southern Religion. December 1999. Accessed August
2018. http://jsr.fsu.edu/mbell2.htm.
“Bethel Crossroads
Baptist Church.” Bartow County Georgia Heritage Book. Vol. 2. Cartersville:
Bartow County Genealogical Society, 1998. 38-39.
Butler, C. S. United
States. US Army Corps of Engineers. Mobile District. Cultural Resources Survey of Historic Cemeteries, Allatoona Lake,
Georgia. Atlanta: Brockington and Associates, 1996.
Cartersville
First Baptist Church History of Growth.
PDF. Cartersville: Cartersville First Baptist Church, 2014.
Cartersville First
Baptist Church History of Growth. PDF. Cartersville:
Cartersville First Baptist Church, 2014.
Cartersville First
Baptist. PDF. Cartersville: Cartersville First
Baptist Church.
“Churches Preaching the
Word and Reaching the World.” American Baptist Association. Accessed on
November 25, 2018. http://www.abaptist.org.
“Cities.” Bartow County
Georgia. Accessed November 25, 2018, http://www.bartowga.org/community_links/cities.php.
“Congregational Church
Governance.” Baptist Distinctives. Accessed on November 25, 2018. https://www.baptistdistinctives.org/resources/articles/congregational-church-governance/.
“Constitutional
Structure.” The People of the United Methodist Church. Last modified on
publication date. Accessed on November 25, 2018. http://www.umc.org/who-we-are/constitutional-structure.
Cunyus, Lucy J. History of Bartow County, Georgia, Formerly
Cass County. Burdine Springs Easley, South Carolina: Tribune Publishing
Company, 1933.
Cunyus, Lucy. Official
Directory of the First Baptist Church, Cartersville, GA. 1916. Booklet
available at the Bartow History Museum Archives, Bartow History Museum
Archives, Cartersville.
Deed of Sale from Andrew
P. Moor to Andrew H. Rice, Pastor, 28 December 1889 (filed 10 February 1890),
Bartow County, Georgia, Deed Book BB, page 396. County Recorder’s Office,
Cartersville, Georgia.
Deed of Sale from Board
of Education of Bartow County to Board of Deacons of Pleasant Olive Baptist
Church, 12 April 1940 (filed 27 April 1940), Bartow County, Georgia, Deed Book
76, page 422. County Recorder’s Office, Cartersville, Georgia.
Deed of Sale from Board
of Education of Bartow County to Board of Deacons of Stoner Baptist Church, 26
October 1944 (filed 27 November 1944), Bartow County, Georgia, Deed Book 82,
page 527. County Recorder’s Office, Cartersville, Georgia.
Deed of Sale from Board
of Education of Bartow County to Dewey Baptist Church, 3 July 1923 (filed 2
March 1954), Bartow County, Georgia, Deed Book 102, page 165. County Recorder’s
Office, Cartersville, Georgia.
Deed of Sale from C. C.
Carroll to Oakland Heights Community Church, 16 January 1954 (filed 20 December
1955), Bartow County, Georgia, Deed Book 102, page 51. County Recorder’s
Office, Cartersville, Georgia.
Deed
of Sale from Mrs. Annie Laurie Jones Cunyus to the Trustees of Fair View
Baptist Church, 8 December 1937, Bartow County, Georgia, Deed Book 74, page
179. County Recorder’s Office, Cartersville, Georgia.
Deed
of Sale from Mrs. Elsie Lou Farmer to Clear Creek Baptist Church, 17 July 1953
(filed 3 August 1953), Bartow County, Georgia, Deed Book 100, page 320. County
Recorder’s Office, Cartersville, Georgia.
Deed of Sale from Mrs. E.
W. Earwood to Etowah Valley Baptist Church, 20 October 1941 (filed 25 October
1941), Bartow County, Georgia, Deed Book 79, page 172. County Recorder’s
Office, Cartersville, Georgia.
Draper, Jr., James T.
“What is a Baptist?” Baptist 2 Baptist. Accessed November 25, 2018, http://www.baptist2baptist.net/b2barticle.asp?ID=226.
“Floyd Creek Baptist
Church.” The Heritage of Euharlee, Stilesboro, and Taylorsville, Georgia.
Acworth: Euharlee Historical Committee, 2010. 70-71.
“Georgia Counties by
Population.” Georgia Demographics by Cubit. July 2017. Accessed October 2018, https://www.georgia-demographics.com/counties_by_population.
“Georgia Counties Ranked
by Area.” County Maps of Georgia. Accessed October 2018, http://www.countymapsofgeorgia.com/countiesbyarea.shtml.
Hale, Martha J. “Oak
Grove Baptist Church.” Bartow County Georgia
Heritage Book. Vol. 1. Acworth, Georgia: Star
Printing, 1995.
Head, Joe F. The
General: The Great Locomotive Dispute. Cartersville, GA: Etowah Historical
Foundation, 1990.
Hill, Jr., Samuel S. Southern Churches in Crisis. New York:
Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1966.
“History.” Heritage
Baptist Church. Accessed July 16, 2018. http://www.hbccartersville.org/history/.
McCauley, Deborah Vansau.
Appalachian Mountain Religion.
Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1995.
McClinton, Rowena.
“Indian Missions.” New Georgia Encyclopedia. Last modified on August 29, 2018.
Accessed on November 25, 2018, https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/indian-missions.
McKaig, Joe. Letter.
‘Oakland Heights Interview’. Email, July 2018.
Moore, Wilma Jo Gazaway. One Vine, Two Branches. Adairsville, GA:
Adairsville Baptist Church, 1979.
Morgan, Janice.
“Taylorsville Baptist Church.” Bartow
County Georgia Heritage Book. Vol. 1. Acworth,
Georgia: Star Printing, 1995.
“Our
Covenant.” Heritage Baptist Church. Accessed July 16, 2018. http://www.hbccartersville.org/church-covenant/.
“Our
Story.” Bartow Baptist. Accessed June 2018, https://www.bartowbaptist.org/history-1.
Parent Cue, October 2018:
Preschool.
PDF. The Rethink Group, 2018. Accessed October 30, 2018. https://cartersvillefirst.com/thenest/.
Parker, Chantal. “Bartow
County.” New Georgia Encyclopedia. Last modified on July 9, 2018. Accessed on
November 25, 2018, https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/counties-cities-neighborhoods/bartow-county.
Schrock,
David. Lottie Moon: A Brief History.
PDF. Accessed October 30, 2018.
Spencer, J. H. History of Kentucky Baptist from 1769 to
1885. Published in 1886.
“Ten Facts You Should
Know About American Baptists.” American Baptist Churches USA. Accessed November
25, 2018, http://www.abc-usa.org/10facts/.
The Euharlee History
Committee. The History of Euharlee.
Cullman, AL: Gregath Publishing Company, 1994.
The Euharlee History
Committee. The History of Euharlee. Cullman, AL: Gregath Publishing
Company, 1994.
“The Nest.” Cartersville
First Baptist Church. Accessed October 30, 2018, https://cartersvillefirst.com/thenest/.
“Three States More Baptist Than Alabama.” AL.
Last modified on September 19, 2017. Accessed on November 25, 2018. https://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2017/09/3_states_more_baptist_than_ala.html.
“Who We Are… (Our
Story).” Vision Baptist Church. Accessed September 13, 2018. https://www.visionbaptistc.org/about-us-1.
White, Jr., O. Hendall
and Daryl White. Religion in the
Contemporary South: Diversity, Community, and Identity. Athens, GA:
University of Georgia Press, 1995.
Worth, John E. “Spanish
Exploration.” New Georgia Encyclopedia. Last modified on September 17, 2018.
Accessed on November 25, 2018, http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/spanish-exploration.
[1] “Three States More Baptist Than Alabama,” AL, last
modified on September 19, 2017, accessed on November 25, 2018, https://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2017/09/3_states_more_baptist_than_ala.html.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Deborah
Vansau McCauley, Appalachian Mountain
Religion: A History (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1995), 23.
[4] McCauley, Appalachian
Mountain Religion, 19.
[5] “Baptists:
What Makes a Baptist a Baptist,” Baptist Distinctives, accessed on November 25,
2018, https://www.baptistdistinctives.org/resources/articles/what-makes-a-baptist-a-baptist/.
[6] Ibid.
[7] “Constitutional
Structure,” The People of the United Methodist Church, accessed on November 25,
2018, http://www.umc.org/who-we-are/constitutional-structure.
[8] “Congregational
Church Governance,” Baptist Distinctives, accessed on November 25, 2018, https://www.baptistdistinctives.org/resources/articles/congregational-church-governance/.
[9] Joe Head, personal interview, November 2018.
[10] “Churches Preaching the Word and
Reaching the World,” American Baptist Association, accessed on November 25,
2018, http://www.abaptist.org.
[11] Samuel S. Hill, Jr., Southern
Churches in Crisis (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1966), 21.
[12] Mark Bell, “Continued Captivity: Religion in Bartow County, Georgia,” The Journal of Southern Religion
(December 1999): accessed August 2018, http://jsr.fsu.edu/mbell2.htm.
[13] O. Hendall White, Jr., and Daryl White, Religion in the Contemporary South: Diversity, Community, and Identity
(Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1995), 3.
[14] John E.
Worth, “Spanish Exploration,” New Georgia Encyclopedia, last modified on
September 17, 2018, accessed on November 25, 2018, http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/spanish-exploration.
[15] Chantal Parker, “Bartow County,”
New Georgia Encyclopedia, last modified on July 9, 2018, accessed on November
25, 2018, https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/counties-cities-neighborhoods/bartow-county.
[16] Rowena
McClinton, “Indian Missions,” New Georgia Encyclopedia, last modified on August
29, 2018, accessed on November 25, 2018, https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/indian-missions.
[17] Parker, “Bartow County,” accessed
on November 25, 2018.
[18] Joe F. Head, The
General: The Great Locomotive Dispute (Cartersville, GA: Etowah Historical
Foundation, 1990).
[19] Parker, “Bartow County,” accessed on November 25, 2018.
[20] “Georgia Counties by Population,” Georgia Demographics by
Cubit, July 2017, accessed October 2018, https://www.georgia-demographics.com/counties_by_population.
[21] “Georgia Counties Ranked by Area,” County Maps of Georgia,
accessed October 2018, http://www.countymapsofgeorgia.com/countiesbyarea.shtml.
[22] Wilma Jo Gazaway Moore, One Vine,
Two Branches, (Adairsville, GA: Adairsville Baptist Church, 1979).
[23] “Cities,” Bartow County Georgia, accessed November 25, 2018,
http://www.bartowga.org/community_links/cities.php.
[24] Cartersville First Baptist
Church History of Growth, PDF (Cartersville:
Cartersville First Baptist Church, 2014).
[25] The
Euharlee History Committee, The History
of Euharlee (Cullman, AL: Gregath Publishing Company, 1994).
[26] Bartow County Genealogical Society, Bartow County Georgia Heritage Book
Volume I (Acworth, Georgia: Star Printing, 1995), 32.
[27] Ibid.
[28] Deed of
Sale from Jonathan H. Whitesides to W. M. Clore et al, 19 October 1868 (filed 9
May 1904), Bartow County, Georgia, Deed Book LL, page 163. County Recorder’s
Office, Cartersville, Georgia.
[29] Ibid.
[30] Deed of
Sale from Mrs. Elsie Lou Farmer to Clear Creek Baptist Church, 17 July 1953
(filed 3 August 1953), Bartow County, Georgia, Deed Book 100, page 320. County
Recorder’s Office, Cartersville, Georgia.
[31] Deed of Sale from Mrs. E. W. Earwood to Etowah Valley Baptist Church,
20 October 1941 (filed 25 October 1941), Bartow County, Georgia, Deed Book 79,
page 172. County Recorder’s Office, Cartersville, Georgia.
[32] Deed of Sale from Mrs. Annie Laurie Jones Cunyus to the Trustees of
Fair View Baptist Church, 8 December 1937, Bartow County, Georgia, Deed Book
74, page 179. County Recorder’s Office, Cartersville, Georgia.
[33] Deed of
Sale from C. C. Carroll to Oakland Heights Community Church, 16 January 1954
(filed 20 December 1955), Bartow County, Georgia, Deed Book 102, page 51.
County Recorder’s Office, Cartersville, Georgia.
[34] Ibid.
[35] Ann Nix Dussault
and Betty Nix Cowart, personal interview, June 2018.
[36] C. S. Butler, United States, US Army Corps
of Engineers, Mobile District, Cultural
Resources Survey of Historic Cemeteries, Allatoona Lake, Georgia (Atlanta:
Brockington and Associates, 1996), 85-99.
[37] Joe Head, personal interview, November 2018.
[38] Ibid.
[39] “Our Covenant,” Heritage Baptist Church, accessed July 16, 2018, http://www.hbccartersville.org/church-covenant/.
[40]
“History,” Heritage Baptist Church, accessed July 16, 2018, http://www.hbccartersville.org/history/.
[41] Joe Head, personal interview, November 2018.
[42] “Who We Are… (Our Story),” Vision Baptist Church,
accessed September 13, 2018, https://www.visionbaptistc.org/about-us-1.
[43] Deed of Sale from Board of Education of Bartow County to Board of
Deacons of Pleasant Olive Baptist Church, 12 April 1940 (filed 27 April 1940),
Bartow County, Georgia, Deed Book 76, page 422. County Recorder’s Office,
Cartersville, Georgia.
[44] The Euharlee History Committee, The History of Euharlee (Cullman, AL:
Gregath Publishing Company, 1994).
[45] Ibid.
[46] David J. Baker, “Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church,” Bartow County Georgia Heritage Book, Vol. 1 (Acworth, Georgia: Star
Printing, 1995), 41.
[47] Ibid.
[48] Ibid.
[49] Messer,
Brenda Edwards. “Pleasant Valley Baptist Church.” Bartow County Georgia Heritage Book, Vol. 1 (Acworth, Georgia: Star Printing, 1995), 44-45.
[50] Deed of Sale from
Andrew P. Moor to Andrew H. Rice, Pastor, 28 December 1889 (filed 10 February 1890),
Bartow County, Georgia, Deed Book BB, page 396. County Recorder’s Office,
Cartersville, Georgia.
[51] Bartow County Genealogical Society, “Oak Hill Baptist Church,”
Bartow County Georgia Heritage Book. Vol.
2 (Acworth, Georgia: Star Printing, 1998), 48.
[52] “Snow
Springs Baptist Church,” Bartow County Georgia Heritage Book Vol. 1 (Acworth, Georgia: Star Printing, 1995), 48.
[53] Article
entitled “A Brief History of ATCO Baptist Church,” located at the Bartow
History Museum Archives.
[54] “Floyd Creek Baptist Church,” The Heritage of Euharlee, Stilesboro, and
Taylorsville, Georgia, Acworth: Euharlee Historical Committee, 2010. 70-71.
[55] Bartow County Genealogical Society, “Bethel Crossroads Baptist Church,” Bartow County Georgia Heritage Book. Vol. 2
(Acworth, Georgia: Star Printing, 1998), 38-39.
[56] “Bethel Crossroads Baptist Church,” 38-39.
[57] Deed of Sale from
Board of Education of Bartow County to Dewey Baptist Church, 3 July 1923 (filed
2 March 1954), Bartow County, Georgia, Deed Book 102, page 165. County
Recorder’s Office, Cartersville, Georgia.
[58] Deed of Sale from Board of Education of Bartow County to Board of
Deacons of Stoner Baptist Church, 26 October 1944 (filed 27 November 1944),
Bartow County, Georgia, Deed Book 82, page 527. County Recorder’s Office,
Cartersville, Georgia.
[59] Ibid.
[60] Moore, One Vine, Two Branches,
45.
[61] “Preschool Ministry,” Tabernacle Baptist Church, accessed October 30, 2018,
http://tabernaclebaptist.org/preschool-2/.
[62] Ibid.
[63] Joe
McKaig, letter, ‘Oakland Heights Interview,’ email, July 2018.
[64] “The Nest,” Cartersville First Baptist Church, accessed October 30,
2018, https://cartersvillefirst.com/thenest/.
[65] Parent Cue, October 2018: Preschool,
PDF, the Rethink Group, 2018, accessed October 30, 2018, https://cartersvillefirst.com/thenest/.
[66] Janice Morgan, “Taylorsville Baptist Church,” Bartow County Georgia Heritage Book Vol. 1, (Acworth, Georgia: Star
Printing, 1995), 48-49.
[67] Martha J. Hale, “Oak Grove Baptist Church,” Bartow County Georgia Heritage Book Vol. 1, (Acworth,
Georgia: Star Printing, 1995), 43.
[68] The
Euharlee History Committee, The History
of Euharlee (Cullman, AL: Gregath Publishing Company, 1994).
[69] Cartersville First Baptist Church History of Growth, PDF, (Cartersville: Cartersville First Baptist Church, 2014).
[70]
“Friendship Baptist Church,” Bartow County Georgia Heritage Book Vol. 1 (Acworth, Georgia: Star Printing, 1995), 37.
[71] “Snow
Springs Baptist Church,” Bartow County Georgia Heritage Book Vol. 1 (Acworth, Georgia: Star Printing, 1995), 48.
[72] Hermon Bearden, “Cassville Baptist Church,” Bartow County Georgia Heritage Book Vol. 1
(Acworth, Georgia: Star Printing, 1995), 34-35.
[73] Wilma Jo
Gazaway Moore, One Vine, Two Branches,
(Adairsville, GA: Adairsville Baptist Church, 1979).
[74] Moore, One Vine, Two
Branches.
[75] Ibid.
[76] Ibid.
[77] Moore, One Vine, Two Branches.
[78] Ibid.
[79] Ibid.
[80] Moore,
One Vine, Two Branches.
[81] Ibid.
[82] Cartersville First Baptist, PDF,
(Cartersville: Cartersville First Baptist Church).
[83] Janice Morgan, “Taylorsville Baptist Church,” Bartow County Georgia Heritage Book Vol. 1,
(Acworth, Georgia: Star Printing, 1995), 48-49.
[84] Hermon Bearden, “Cassville Baptist Church,” Bartow County Georgia Heritage Book Vol. 1
(Acworth, Georgia: Star Printing, 1995), 34-35.
[85] David Schrock, Lottie Moon: A
Brief History, PDF, accessed October 30, 2018.
[86] Hermon Bearden, “Cassville Baptist Church,” Bartow County Georgia Heritage Book Vol. 1 (Acworth, Georgia: Star
Printing, 1995), 34-35.
[87] “Our
Story,” Bartow Baptist, accessed June 2018, https://www.bartowbaptist.org/history-1.
[88] Ibid.
[89] Interview
with David Franklin, personal interview, November 2018.
[90] Interview
with David Franklin, personal interview, November 2018.
[91] Ibid.
