Tag Archives: Churches of Baldwin County GA

Trinity CME Church, 1921, Milledgeville

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Trinity CME is one of Milledgeville’s most historic Black congregations. Some of the founding members attended the Methodist Episcopal Church with their enslavers, but newly freed, they soon formed their own congregation, in the mid-1860s. They built their first church at the corner of Liberty and Franklin Streets, beside Memory Hill Cemetery. A grand renovation took place in 1883 and the work was done by Charlie and Frank Steele and William Brooks; some sources even note that it had the largest steeple in Milledgeville. The Rev. Gideon Hill was prominent in the church during this period.

After the old church burned down, the present church, itself a Milledgeville landmark, was built in 1921 during the pastorate of George L. Word. It’s located at the corner of North Wilkinson Street and West Thomas Street.

Milledgeville Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Scotts Chapel AME Church, Stevens Pottery

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Though it is now known as His Mercy Ministries, this church near the Stevens Pottery community was originally home to Scott’s Chapel CME. I photographed the cornerstone but it is difficult to read. The information I can discern is the name of the church, the name of Bishop R. S. Williams, and the fact that the church was remodeled in 1925. The cinderblock indicates that it was rebuilt at a later date. It’s likely Scott’s Chapel was a freedman’s congregation, considering that the area was well-populated by 1851, if not sooner. Information on the church has been difficult to access.

Montpelier United Methodist Church, Baldwin County

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Montpelier is the oldest congregation in Baldwin County. I’m unsure as to the date of construction of the present church, but records of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist church indicate [in a document from 1972] that the structure was built before 1843. That appears to be a good possibility. Enslaved people attended the church with their owners in the antebellum era. The historical marker placed by the Georgia Historical Commission in 1996 gives more insight to the history of the community than it does the church itself: This church is named Montpelier after Fort Montpelier of 1794, 1/2 mi. below here down the Oconee. This fort and others were built during the Creek Indian troubles. Captain Jonas Fouche was ordered to guard the Georgia frontier from the mouth of the Tugaloo to Fort Fidius on the Oconee. 200 militia cavalry and infantry raised under Governor Telfair were placed under the command of Major Gaither, Federal commandant. A note on Fouche’s map reads: “As it is 40 mi .from Fort Twiggs to Mount Pelah where Maj. Gaither laid in garrison, it is recommended that a public station might be created by the Government (at Cedar Shoals)´

Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 1874, Milledgeville

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From the history of Sacred Heart via their website: “One can hardly write about the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Milledgeville without acknowledging the threads of the Treanor and Cline families that are woven ever so snugly within the fabric of the early Catholic community in Baldwin County. For over a hundred and fifty years these families, the ancestors of internationally acclaimed author Flannery O’Connor, have been instrumental in the development and growth of the Catholic Church in Milledgeville. Yet today, the church is privileged to have an active parishioner who is a decedent of these families.

The first Catholic resident of Milledgeville was Hugh Donnelly Treanor, Flannery O’Connor’s great-grandfather. Mr. Treanor owned and operated a gristmill located on the Oconee River just east of town. Remnants of the mill can still be seen when looking north from the bridge just east of town on the Sparta Road. It was in his room in the Newell Hotel, across the street from the Presbyterian Church where the Magnolia State Bank now stands, that the first Catholic Mass on record was celebrated in April 1845 by Reverend J.J. O’Connell. Documentation also shows that the O’Brien family was in attendance at the Mass.“

Milledgeville Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

First Presbyterian Church, 1904, Milledgeville

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Organized by the Reverend Joseph Stiles and Dr. John Brown, Milledgeville’s Presbyterian congregation dates to 1826. An earlier building stood on this site on Statehouse Square but was replaced by this one, whose Scottish cornerstone, embellished with thistle, was laid in 1904.

Milledgeville Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

 

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 1843, Milledgeville

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Milledgeville’s oldest standing church, St. Stephen’s is located adjacent to the old capitol building on Statehouse Square. It was occupied in late November 1864 by members of the 107th New York Cavalry Regiment as part of Sherman’s detachment bound for Savannah on their infamous march through Georgia. They burned pews and poured syrup into the pipes of the church’s organ.  A Georgia historic marker placed in 1955 notes: This Church was organized in 1841 through the efforts of Bishop Stephen Elliott. the church building was completed in 1843 and consecrated Dec. 10. The vestibule, annex and Gothic roof were added later. The handmade chancel furniture was given by an early parishioner, John Wilcox. Rev. Rufus White was probably the first Rector and J.M. Cotting and C.J. Paine the first Wardens. In 1864 the building was damaged when Federal troops dynamited the nearby arsenal. In 1909 a new organ was presented by George W. Perkins of New York who had heard that Sherman’s troops stabled horses in the building and further damaged its contents.

Milledgeville Historic District, National Register of Historic Places