It’s believed that John Slade, a missionary from South Carolina, organized this congregation around 1830 and served as its first pastor. The first building was erected in 1869. Ground was broken for the present church in 1927 and it was dedicated on 17 April 1928, by Bishop William N. Ainsworth.
Allen Ware writes: My Dad and wife (Gene Ware and Flecia Ware) opened the store on Labor Day 1978. All they had to sell was Lance crackers and Coca-Cola drinks. His first day he sold 100.00 worth of merchandise. From that point on everything he made was invested back into the store and it was affectionately know as Waremart by alot of people. We sold groceries, hardware, work boots, lawnmowers, chain saws and wood heaters. It was quite an operation. He sold it in 2000 and it still operates today. There were a lot of good memories made in that place and we made a lot of good, very special friends. Billy Brown notes that before it was Ware & Son it was known as Byrds, for his great-grandfather, Alton Byrd, who operated a general store here for many years.
Thanks to Jean Ouzts for the identification. She notes that this was Bill Sloan’s store.
Bernice Doyle notes that this was originally the Climax post office. I ‘m not sure if this was before or after the Allen Mercantile Company served that purpose. It was more recently known as the Cudzu Cottage.