Located in rural Stewart County, Sardis Methodist Church was established in the 1840s. According to Mr. Joe Barge, who gave us a fascinating tour of the property, the church building dates to circa 1855. It was built by Joseph Sessions (1794-1856) and his nephew, Benjamin Franklin Barge (1810-1873).
The Barge family has been a part of the congregation since its inception and much of the farm and timberland around the church has been in the family during that time. The area is known as Trotman, though appears on maps, incorrectly, as Troutman. If I recall correctly, Mr. Barge said that seven generations of his family are buried in the cemetery.
The church had fallen into serious disrepair by the 1970s. Restoration was the only option members felt was viable and the work was completed by 1982. One gets a sense of the pride that members have in their church, from the well maintained cemetery and churchyard to the interior. I believe the congregation meets just once a month now, but they’re still active and take excellent care of this special place.
Country churches like Sardis are becoming much less common these days, as families disperse from rural areas, but they’re still among the great rural landmarks of Georgia. It’s inspiring to see congregations embracing and preserving their history, and Sardis does as good a job as any I’ve seen in my travels.
Interesting to see the pulpit area looks almost like a “jury box.” I have never seen a configuration like this one before. Wonder why it was done that way?
Brian, another church you might want to shoot is Christ Church on St Simons Island and the graveyard there. The Wesleys preached under the oak trees there, and some VIPs married in the church, Sara Churchill and Roosevelt’s VP, Alben Barclay, and a third I can’t remember. Jim