This congregation was organized in October 1885. To my knowledge, this is the original church building and was probably built soon after the congregation formed. I believe some of my Browning relatives attended this church as it’s located across the road from the old Browning’s Grocery. It’s one of the most beautiful country churches in the area and features one of the best-kept churchyards and cemeteries I’ve ever seen.
Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian Brown 
Kay- The buildings across from the Shiloh UMC were a school. My husband’s family had their reunion in one building which was the cafeteria. My husband’s family name is Crabb and his great uncle lived there – Eulie Crabb.
My great-great uncle Walter Thomas McArthur built the Victorian house down the road from this church. He also donated the land and furnishings for the church and had the architect who built his house to also build the church.
Brian, I agree with you on the beauty of this church as well as the setting and you definitely have a gift for capturing it. Thank you for what you are doing with your talent and sharing it as you do with the public. The post you made a month or two ago for Liberty Hill Methodist Church in Wilcox county caused me to discover a useful web-site for searching out any given area in any county all over the USA and you may be very familiar with it but I wanted to mention it in case you weren’t. To get to the web-site using google you would type in churches and cemeteries of Wilcox county Georgia, USA (or whatever county and state you wanted) and the website choices usually come up on the first page and sometimes only the U of USA is visible. Click on it and a list of all the churches and cemeteries for that county come up. Pick the one you are interested in and page / post will come up that has a google satellite image of it. Next pick under the image for enlarge map or similar wording. Then to my surprise the real fun began when the google street views began to appear across the bottom. After that its pretty easy to work with and to me is a great tool to pick (scout out) places you might want to go to photograph or in my case to look for rock outcrops that might show up in the road cuts for my “Ocmulgee structure” project. Best wishes, Paul Wetherington
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Did you get any photos of that big white Victorian down the road from the church? I know the Browning’s very well and when I would go visit Teresa, I cut thru from Jeff Davis to Montgomery to Wheeler county and would come out by this big beautiful white house by a Pecan orchid.
I believe you’re referring to this house, Michael:http://vanishingsouthgeorgia.com/2009/12/07/winship-mcarthur-house-wheeler-county/
Yes, I think that’s it. Its just a couple of miles up the rd going towards Lumber City from the Shiloh church. It sits back off the road, but that looks like it. I’ve always admired that house and wondered about its history.
Just across the road from this church were two wood frame buildings that looked like a school or hospital. Have wondered for years what they are. Any idea?
What road number is this on in Wheeler? I cannot locate. Thanks.
Georgia Highway 19…
Bill, it’s located on Georgia Highway 19, north of Lumber City.
Cathee: The store was Browning Grocery and there are two other buildings which, as you said, appear to have been schoolhouses. I’ve tried for a long time to find out more about them, but to no avail.
My grandfather Herschel Claxton Browning is buried there. The first row just behind the church. The church use to have a mailbox for donations for maintenance of cemetery. That probably ended in the nineties. Theft was what ended that.
The old structure was a school back in the day. I do have a small piece of information.
There at the old Browning grocery store are the owners Ronnie and Sherry Browning, that live right beside it. They would be able to tell you about the old school house.
Their phone number is 9125687282. I’m sure they would not mind telling you about Shiloh’s history.