Though the date of organization is unknown, Damascus Methodist Church was likely established around the turn of the century (1890-1900). The earliest records date to 1906. The first church building was lost to fire in the 1910s and replaced by this classical structure in 1920.
The community of Centerville, in Early County, is one of at least six places bearing that name in Georgia. The only one to be incorporated is located near Warner Robins, in Houston County.
From an historic marker placed by the church and the Historic Chattahoochee Commission in 1998: Ben Johnson and his wife, “Miss Ellie,” attended the DuBose Methodist Church located six miles away until they were caught in a rainstorm that frightened their horse. In an attempt to get a church nearer home, Ben Johnson and Dick Mock rode for several days before finding someone to donate land for the church. Most of the land in the area was mortgaged because of the Civil War but Elias Harper deeded four acres to church trustees, Ben Johnson, Sam Roe Johnson and John King to be used for a church and a cemetery. “Miss Ellie” named it Centerville because it was in the middle of the community.
The Centerville Methodist Church was organized in 1891, and the people of the community erected the first church building eight miles south of Blakely on the Three Notch Road. It was a pine log structure with posts in the middle section for support and two single doors for entering the church. The original floor joists and ceiling trusses, which were made of whole pine logs, are still in place. A wood stove was placed in the middle of the room to warm the congregation. The church was dedicated on August 7, 1898, with Rev. C.C. Lowe serving as its first pastor. In 1976, the social hall was added and synthetic siding installed.
This little church is the most significant remaining public landmark in the Cuba settlement, south of Blakely. It’s a cruciform-shaped building, similar in style, if not age, to the Bryan Neck Presbyterian Church in coastal Bryan County, and rare for such a small structure.
The church dates to the 20th century but I haven’t found any details yet. It is still an active congregation.
Though sided with asbestos today, the exterior of this church would have originally looked just like the interior, as seen below. The congregation dates to 28 September 1887, though I’m not sure when the church was built.
It’s set on fieldstone pillars.
Update: Chloe Evans Holloway notes, as of February 2023: It has been torn down and nothing is there but a sign and the graveyard. I have 3 or 4 generations of my family in the graveyard. My grandfather built the wooden caskets for many of the families who are buried there.
Janet Megahee Hudson writes: This was once the First United Methodist Church of Cedar Springs. My grandparents attended: George Earle and Edna Clare Sheffield Megahee.
A 1994 historic marker placed by the Historic Chattahoochee Foundation and the church reads: The Hilton Methodist Episcopal Church, South was organized in 1850. The first church was erected one mile southwest of Hilton on the Lower River Road. This structure was sold after the Civil War and services were then conducted in an arbor. E. Hilton deeded land to the church trustees for the present site on November 1, 1889. The pegged-frame building for the Hilton United Methodist Church was built in 1890 and the social hall was added in 1973.
An excellent history of the church can be found here.
Blakely Court Square Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
The Methodists first organized in Blakely in 1853 by the circuit riding reverend Ira Cook. The first church building was located on Court Square and was shared with the Presbyterians. The congregation grew rapidly over the next half century and the present church was constructed in 1901. The church history is quite interesting.