I originally thought this church was built for another congregation and might have had another steeple, but Eileen Dudley notes that it was built this way. Eileen is the program manager for Historic Twin City and is largely responsible for getting National Register status for the city.
Twin City Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Many, many or my direct ancestors are buried at the Old Canoochee Primitive Baptist Church in Twin City. In the last couple of years I started Genealogy on my grandmother’s family . I have been unable to find a phone number for the Old Canoochee PBC or Baptist Rest PBC. I was wondering if they have any old church records and pictures. I have an old photo that I strongly believe is by 3rd ggm – Missouri Georgeanne Overstreet Barwick (Buried at Canoochee) but I can not verify. Please let me know if you have any info, ideas or anything I can do to explore this conundrum,
Thank you so much!
Angie Major
Very interesting building! I believe the structure on top would be considered either a bell tower or a copula, rather than an actual steeple. Many more Primitive Baptist churches were inclined to those two structures than they were an actual steeple. Any sort of item on top is rare in the deep south though – a bell tower seems more common in the north. That being said, I have seen a few (maybe a half dozen) PB houses featuring steeples.
(As a Primitive Baptist, I have enjoyed the photos of PB meeting houses posted here from time to time!)
My grandmother was Primitive Baptist, and I would guess this church always was Primitive Baptist as well.
Thanks, Kathryn. You were correct about it always being Primitive Baptist. Thanks! (I’ve seen so many of the Hardshell Primitves in Southeast Georgia that this just looked too fancy!)
I just found a 1956 photo of Baptist Rest Primitive Baptist Church in Twin City. My grandmother’s church, we posed for family pictures in front of it. It had the single steeple then as now.