Bethesda was organized in 1827 but no records of its early history survive. A wood frame church was built in 1856 but was destroyed by fire in 1924. The congregation met in the local schoolhouse until 1935. Since the school had been donated to the church, the decision was made to raze it in 1935 and salvage its timbers to build the present structure.
The church is connected by a breezeway to a smaller, nearly identical social hall.
Corinth was established in 1896 and met in member’s homes and other locations until building this church in 1898. It’s located near Girard.
Dating to the colonial era, the First Presbyterian Church of Waynesboro was founded in 1760 with the establishment of a church on Briar Creek (Episcopalian) and another on Walnut Branch. The present church grew out of the union of these two churches in 1812. The present structure, the third to serve the congregation on this site, was dedicated in 1884.
Waynesboro Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This historic Black congregation likely dates to the late 19th century. The church appears to date to the early 20th century.
The congregation was established in 1889 and the church built in 1895.
Bark Camp Baptist, the 7th oldest Baptist church in Georgia, sprang from one of the oldest communities in Burke County. Bark Camp was named for the lean-to housing built by early cattlemen. The congregation was established around 1788, and the first of three structures preceding this one was built soon thereafter. The present church is a vernacular interpretation of the Greek Revival and wonderfully executed.
When you approach this historic building, you’ll notice this sign. In a time when churches are kept locked, it’s so refreshing to see that the stewards of this wonderful place want to share it with others.
Once inside, you can’t help but be drawn into its history.
A plaque placed by Jerry A. Maddox in 2005 notes that the prominent Methodist missionary, Dr. Young John Allen preached here on 30 June 1878. A Burke County native, Dr. Allen served as missionary to China from 1860-1907, was a President of the Anglo-Chinese College in Shanghai, founded a home and school for girls, and founded and published Review of the Times (Wanguo Bangbao), one of the most influential Chinese periodicals of the 19th century.
Many Burke County pioneers are buried in the cemetery adjacent to the church.
National Register of Historic Places
This old vernacular church. likely from the turn of the last century, is located on private property but can be seen from the road.
Like many older African-American congregations, St. Clair Missionary Baptist utilizes a new church building but retains an older facility on the property [below].
There’s another structure which appears to be a social hall.
This is one of the best maintained and neatest little country churches I’ve ever seen in Georgia. It was built by Charles Clark as a plantation church to serve the spiritual needs of his large family. He was married twice and had 25 children. The Methodist Episcopal affiliation came in 1878, as the family spread out and left the plantation, but they resumed care for it in the late 1970s, after membership dwindled.
Charles Clark came to Savannah from Westfield, New Jersey in 1802 and married his first wife, Eleanor Carswell, there. As his interests in agriculture grew, he acquired plantation lands in Burke County and resettled here. Upon Eleanor’s death in 1826, Clark married Sarah Murphey. A memorial outside the church reads: In Memory of Charles Clark (Jan. 30, 1782 – Feb. 2, 1852) Who in 1847 built Clark’s Chapel Church upon these rocks. He now lies buried in the family cemetery 1 1/2 miles away.
National Register of Historic Places
It’s thought that this church was built by David Demarest, the architect of Old Mercer Chapel in Penfield and the Greene County Courthouse in Greensboro. It certainly hearkens to his mastery of Greek Revival architecture. The congregation of Hopeful Baptist dates to 1815, when a church was organized on the lands of Alexander Carswell’s plantation. Three smaller, less formal churches predate this structure. The pulpit is at the entrance to the church, in contrast to the layout of most houses of worship. A member told me that this was to insure that every congregant would interact with the preacher. A small section at the rear was used as seating for enslaved people.
National Register of Historic Places