Du Pont Baptist Church, Clinch County
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Tag Archives: Churches of Clinch County GA
Prospect Primitive Baptist Church & Cemetery, Clinch County
History of Prospect Primitive Baptist Church, located near Du Pont, has been hard to come by, but as is often the case, some background can be discerned from the cemetery. The earliest discernible burials date to just before the Civil War, so the congregation was probably established around that time by pioneers of Wiregrass Georgia. There are some nice older graves in the cemetery, so I’m sharing a few examples for their historical interest.
The ledger stone of James Touchton is signed by the carvers, Wilcox & Lamance of Brunswick.
Mathis served as a private in Carter’s Independents, a local regiment in the Indian Wars. “Indian Wars” is a very broad term and can cover a variety of periods.
Skinner was a private in Captain’s Knight’s & Johnston’s Company, 81st Reg, Georgia Militia, during the Indian Wars.
Private Hutto entered service on 15 July 1918, attached to the 4th Company, Coast Artillery Corps Replacement Draft, at Fort Screven. He drowned aboard the HMS Otranto off the Scottish coast on 6 October 1918. He left behind a widow, Norine Essie Woods Hutto, and no children.
I always like finding these wooden markers. They were much more common in the past but many have been lost to the elements or replaced with more permanent markers.
Fargo United Methodist Church, 1890s, Clinch County
The South Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church writes: Fargo is on the western side of the Okefenokee Swamp and records of Methodism are few. Methodist meetings were held but no records of this have survived. In the late 1890’s, the Baxter Timber Company built the Hamby Masonic Lodge and the community and church used the lower floor. When the depression hit, the Baxter Company turned the lodge into a hotel. The church moved to the school until the hotel failed and then Fargo moved back into the lodge building. Until the roads were paved in the 1950’s, the preacher would arrive by train on Saturday evening, preach, take the noon train to St. George, preach and return to Fargo again at night. During the Sunday school attendance contest between Fargo and Statenville, the Fargo superintendent had to wire Statenville when Fargo hit the 100 mark because there were no phones.
Bethany Primitive Baptist Church & Arabia Cemetery, Clinch County
Bethany was established as a branch of Union Church in 1841 and was constituted in May 1847. It remains an active congregation, meeting on the third Saturday and Sunday of each month.
A pavilion for dinners-on-the ground is essential, as this style of Primitive Baptist meeting house is essentially a sanctuary with room for nothing else. They are very utilitarian, as are their Crawfordite cousins.
The church and grounds are situated on a high bluff of Arabia Bay, which is actually a Carolina bay surrounded by an extensive swamp. The cemetery has always been known as Arabia Cemetery, for its location. It’s the final resting place of many Clinch County pioneers.
Perhaps the white sand led pioneers to call the land here “Arabia”. The cemetery can seem quite stark to those who have never seen these white sand burial grounds common in Southeast Georgia, but they really have a subtle beauty.
Arabia is particularly well-maintained. The beautiful decorative arch marking the entrance is a landmark itself, having been given in memory of R. G. Dickerson, who died in 1924, by Mrs. R. G. Dickerson and family. The crossroads near the church are known as Dickerson Crossing.
Ramah Primitive Baptist Church, Clinch County
The meeting house of Ramah Primitive Baptist Church stands empty today, largely unchanged from the time its congregation disbanded in 1979.
The interior has the typical appearance of its nearby cousins, the Crawfordites. The date of the structure is not known, but the congregation was established in 1873.
Antioch Methodist Church, 1844, Clinch County
With a choir of two and a congregation of five, the very survival of this little church is an inspiration. Built in 1844, it’s truly one of the most historic rural church buildings in South Georgia. I can only imagine the challenges faced by the Wiregrass pioneers who cleared longleaf pine and palmetto thickets to raise this chapel. Many of those men and women are buried in the adjoining cemetery. The congregation built a social hall behind the old church a few years ago and obviously take great pride in this special place.
I hope the United Methodist Church will work to further secure the site, as the congregation ages and grows smaller in number.
Argyle Methodist Church, Clinch County
This originally served as the Argyle Methodist Church, but after it was decommissioned it was renamed the Arthur J. Moore Community Center. Bishop Moore was born in Argyle in 1888 and went on to become one of 20th-century Methodism’s most visible disciples.
Homerville United Methodist Church, 1913
Established in 1875, the Homerville Methodists first met in the courthouse. Land for the church was donated by the railroad and through the contributions of Henry J. Peagler and others, the present structure was built. Sided with Georgia marble, it’s one of the nicest structures in Homerville.