According to Pebble Hill Plantation, “The original Piney Grove Church was organized as Piney Grove Missionary Baptist Church in 1885 as a “Bush Arbor” by black families who lived and worked on the plantation. The first wooden church structure was built by Mrs. Kate Hanna Ireland Harvey for the plantation’s staff and their families. Every year, the staff, their families, and the plantation owners joined together for a Christmas service inside the church. After two fires, Pebble Hill’s last owner, Elisabeth Ireland Poe, paid for the design, by architect Hugh Seaver, and for the construction of the church building that stands today. Construction was completed in the summer of 1936. At the time, it was the only church in the area with the innovation of electric lights. There is still an active congregation at Piney Grove that meets for services twice a month.”