Mt. Olive Primitive Baptist Church, near Manor, is the 14th Crawfordite meeting house I have documented in Georgia, the culmination of work that began well over a decade ago.
In that time, I’ve come to consider them an architectural and cultural treasure and admire them as landmarks of vernacular architecture.
As I’ve said before, they inspire even those without religion in their simplicity and practicality, and architecturally, are examples of sound construction and periodic restoration in the traditional sense.
The churches are all isolated but form a collective resource nonetheless.
Some are still in use while others are not, but in one way or another, they are all watched over by the families with connections to the congregations.
The Crawfordites, whom I’ve already discussed at length elsewhere on this website, were/are a subset of the Primitive Baptists who began forming congregations in the 1860s and 1870s, according to historian Dr. John G. Crowley.
Quite fascinating, Brian. I had never heard of Crawfordites before.
What was the area in the second picture from the top used for?
That is the pulpit, with bench for multiple preachers to take the stand one after another, and communion table, with a bench behind it for preachers waiting to speak over the elements.