Braswell Methodist is one of the most fascinating vernacular church buildings in Georgia. Its small utilitarian size as well as its local interpretation of the church form might seem crude to some, but they are proof that most rural Georgians did the best with the materials they had available. It stands not only as a testament to the faith of this small historical congregation but as a work of art in itself.
In the 1880s, Henry Braswell and New Yorker William McCracken opened a timber business, focused on crossties, in this section of Paulding County, and the nearby town was named for Braswell. It was a thriving village for about thirty years but was in decline by the 1920s. Mr. Braswell died in 1902 but not before donating land on Brushy Mountain for the purpose of building a Methodist Church. That congregation didn’t materialize until the early 1920s and this unique little church was completed around Christmas Day, 1926, with the first services coming early in the New Year of 1927. The church disbanded many years ago and is now owned by the City of Braswell.
Recently, a group of concerned local citizens, including descendants of members, has led an effort to restore the church.
Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian Brown 