Credit Hill is another place name along the coast whose origin was a bit of mystery to me. I initially thought it to be a reference to a turpentine or timber commissary, but in his excellent history of McIntosh County, Buddy Sullivan writes: Credit Hill gets its name from the First Credit Hill Baptist Church…the First Credit Hill Baptist Church property was purchased ca. 1865 by a group living in the Free Castle Swamp area to establish the church. The property was sold to the group, on “credit,” for the sum of five dollars. Hence the name, Credit Hill…[Though he doesn’t mention it, the church is African-American, and therefore must have been established by newly freed enslaved men and women.]
Credit was an apt description, but there’s really no hill in sight. And there was never a post office here, either.
Besides two churches, First and Second Credit Hill Baptist, there’s nothing else in this lost community, besides a road bearing the name, to signify there was ever a settlement here.
*-This house is usually obscured by vegetation but is located at the center of Credit Hill. The type is a variation of the pyramidal cottage, sometimes referred to as a hip-roof cottage.
I want to Thank You for the update on Credit Hill. The Church F C H B C is Very much alive today, with Services every Sunday. Pastor Jerome Ellzy.
You’re welcome, Pastor Ellzy. I need to come get more photographs of both the churches in Credit Hill. I don’t live far away.
Credit Hill is indeed a strange name for a town. Sad when communities are abandoned, but when source of income is gone, so is the town. Admirable that there are still two churches located there.
I especially appreciate Tom’s Theology Blog and shared some of the quotes.
Thank you!