Corinth Baptist church traces its origins to 1812, when the Little Ogeechee Baptist Church of Oliver established the Cowpen Mission here, beside Cowpen Branch. In 1875, the mission’s name was changed to Corinth Baptist Church.
Silver Hill Church was originally associated with the Methodists but is now independent. I spoke with a nice gentleman who had been visiting the cemetery here who said the congregation dated to the 1890s and the present structure was built circa 1911, if I’m remembering correctly. He said it was all still original other than the steeple, which is a more recent addition.
I usually find “added” steeples to be tacky or at the least not very well thought out, but this one is particularly nice. The church building itself is an example of the dominant form for rural chapels, a long rectangular box with windows, or bays, corresponding to the depth of the structure. This plain style is a pinnacle of vernacular “design” and serves its purpose so well.
I haven’t been able to locate much information about this historic Black church, other than the date of 1934; I don’t know if this is when the church was established or when the present structure was built.
The architecture is fascinating and if the building dates to 1934, the present appearance represents an evolution for the structure, an update if you will. The brick detailing around the windows and doors is quite stunning.
I haven’t been able to locate any information on this historic African-American congregation. There are apparently different groups of independent Methodists and some sources suggest they are more akin to the Holiness movement but with Methodist roots. I think the main distinction would be that they are not governed by an administrative structure. This is a nice modern building, with obvious Gothic influences.
If anyone knows more, please reach out via the website or email. I suspect the congregation is older than the church building.
Laurel Hill Lutheran Church and its sister church, Wingard Memorial Lutheran Church, make up the Clyo Lutheran Parish. Located outside town, Laurel Hill is a beautiful country church. The present structure was built in the 1880s. According to the parish website: In December of 1860 Mr. William Washington Metzger made a Christmas gift of two acres of land to his community to start a congregation. The church, Laurel Hill was established on December 27, 1862. The name Laurel Hill was suggested by Mr. John Israel Reiser and was accepted by the members. In 1871 the Reverend J. N. Derrick became the first called Pastor of Laurel Hill.
While the Lutheran Church has congregations throughout the state, Effingham County remains the historical home of the faith in Georgia. I’m fascinated not only by the churches but by the Salzburger pioneers who first settled the area in 1734.
One of the main objectives of my ramble through Effingham County yesterday was to photograph this church, which I think is one of the most unique in the area. I’d normally be annoyed that there were cars or other intrusions in my quest for a photograph, but I was very glad to see this work being done. And you can just imagine, from this perspective in the shade of an enormous oak beside the adjacent Helmey Cemetery, that it’s a beautiful spot. If not the founders of the congregation, Joseph Israel Helmey (1843-1914) or his son Kollock Israel Helmey (1868-1949), were instrumental in its establishment. The fact that the cemetery bears their name is evidence of that fact. The Helmey family dates back to at least 1800 in Effingham County.
Miller Chapel was a “daughter” congregation of Zion Lutheran Church, established in 1888, after Zion had become independent of Jerusalem Church in 1872. After the Miller Chapel congregation was dissolved, it served as the home of Berea Southern Methodist Church. A new sign indicates that Zion is responsible for the restoration and that it will once again be a Lutheran congregation. The Salzburger Lutherans of Effingham County are among the earliest settlers of Georgia.
This structure was built circa 1904. The twin pyramidal steeples are its most impressive architectural feature. It’s great to see boards being replaced, a new roof, and window panes being properly repaired instead of being replaced. I hope this suggests that they will not be adding vinyl siding to the building.
Due to the growth of the Salzburger settlement at Ebenezer by the 1740s, a need arose for new churches to serve a dispersed population. Goshen Church was built about 1751, established about a mile from the present location as Goshen Lutheran Church. Oral tradition states that when a malaria outbreak threatened the health and lives of Goshen’s congregants, they sawed the church in half and moved it to this site, where they rebuilt it. Goshen remained part of the Ebenezer Parish until after the American Revolution. Goshen had always been served by Lutheran pastors who preached in German, and because of the language barrier, Pastor Bergman invited Bishop Asbury to send Methodist preachers to reach the congregation. Moravian missionaries used the church as a meetinghouse after the Lutherans moved on.
In 1820, Reverend James O. Andrew established the Methodist congregation at Goshen and the Lutherans transferred the property a few years later. The Reverend Lewis Myers began his pastorate circa 1823 and served the church for many years.
Goshen was a town long before Rincon existed and was the site of the first post office in Effingham County. Local lore maintains the George Washington once visited the church trading post.
Goshen Cemetery
The earliest identified burials in Goshen Cemetery date to around the time the Methodists assumed ownership of the church and it is the final resting place of many Effingham County pioneers. The following monuments and headstones are presented randomly and I photographed them as much for their aesthetic appeal as their historical importance.
A brick enclosure, perhaps built by enslaved men, surrounds the gravesites of many members of the Gugel family, who were prominent members of the church and community.
Tomb of Hannah Gugel Nowlan (January 1791-10 September 1833) The slab reads: To the memory of Mrs. Hannah Nowlen Who departed this life Sept 10th 1833 Aged 42 years and 9 months
Can marble tell the worth of Spirit felt Where dust here mingles with its kindred dead: Say there – the faithful friend in silence rests. The Mother whose fond heart was tenderness. The Child whose filial joy of filial love
Now draw the parents hears to realms above, The sister loving constant, true, sincere The Christian meek to Zion precious one
Here rests in Hope
Mrs. Nowlan was the wife of George Galphin Nowlan, 1787-1816, Colonel in the War of 1812. Colonel Nowlan is buried in Memory Hill Cemetery, Milledgeville.
The tomb is signed by Savannah stonemasons Maxwell & Gow.
Margaret Waldhaur Gugel (8 April 1762-28 September 1844) and David Gugel (21 January 1764-24 April 1842) were the parents of Hannah Nowlan. David Gugel was a private and fifer in the Georgia Militia, enlisted in 1782. He served under General Anthony Wayne, helped build bridges and guard the Ebenezer magazine and the stores at Zubly’s Ferry.
Mary Ann Gugel Olcott (1797-24 January 1822) Mrs. Olcott was also a daughter of Margaret and David Gugel. She was married to Reverend James S. Olcott. The headstone indicates that two of her babies are buried here, as well.
Detail of headstone of Elizabeth Gugel Charlton (13 February 1793-11 July 1869) Mrs. Charlton was also a daughter of Margaret and David Gugel.
William Bandy (24 October 1799-24 May 1825) and Mary Bandy (16 October 1795-16 October 1825)
Tree of Life tympanum of Sarah Ann Black Zittrouer (14 December 1830-20 December 1899)
Tree of Life tympanum of William Josiah Zittrouer (10 September 1820-4 March 1895). Mr. Zittrouer was a Confederate veteran.
Cast iron boundary marker, Exley lot.
Bessie Margaret Exley (1892-1896)
From the South Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church: In the late 1850s, Dr. Ayer from Rome came to the community to visit his daughter, Mrs. Anderson P. Longstreet, who lived in the community. There was no Methodist church in the area at this time and so Dr. Ayer contributed financially to funding a church. Lewis Grovenstein, Benjamin C. Porter, and A. P. Longstreet was selected to organize the new sanctuary and four acres were selected from property owned by George W. Best. The new structure was a frame building measuring thirty-five feet by fifty feet by thirteen feet and was completed in December 1859. On March 18, 1860, the church was organized with twenty females and twenty males on the roll. This church was served by two pastors, Rev. B. F. Breedlove and Rev. L. L. Strange. The first quarterly conference was held in September 1866, under the pastorate of Rev. N. D. Morehouse. In 1885, money was collected to “remodel, repair and paint” the church and, in 1886, the roof was extended in the front and pews were built…In August 1945, electricity was installed at Mizpah… Also in the 1940s, the inside of the sanctuary was remodeled so that the separate entrances and seating for men and women were changed to one double door and one center aisle. In 1953, the wood burning stove was replaced with a gas heater…
Celebrating its sesquicentennial this year, New Hope A. M. E. Church was founded by former slaves on 4 August 1869. It’s the oldest black church in Guyton and among the oldest A. M. E. congregations in Southeast Georgia. The original members, mostly the families of carpenters, farmers, turpentiners, and millers, had been members of Methodist churches and sought to build a congregation and community. The neighborhood came to be known as Sugar Hill, and New Hope was its anchor.
I had the good fortune of meeting Mrs. Pearl Powell Boynes, who graciously invited me inside the church with my camera. She was a delightful lady who has a background in history and great reverence for her ancestors’ contributions to New Hope. The above photo of her great-grandparents, George (born 1828) and Eve McCall, graces the vestibule of the church. [This is a crop of the full image; formatting changes made a horizontal version work better. If anyone would like to use or see the full size image please contact me.]
Reverend W. H. Wells was the first pastor. The church was built with rough-hewn lumber joined with wood pegs and square nails. Originally, the exterior was covered with hand-carved shingles and the walls made of hog-hair and cement plaster. Some of the shingles remain on the exterior. The chandelier in the middle of the sanctuary has been a prominent feature since around the turn of the century. It was originally gas-powered.
The hand-carved pews have been in use since the church was completed.
National Register of Historic Places
Bethel Lutheran was founded as a branch of Jerusalem Lutheran Church. People regularly walked or rode the 10-15 miles from this area near Springfield to Ebenezer to attend Jerusalem. Sometime prior to 1855 congregants began gathering on this site and conducted services in a brush arbor. Soon, it was obvious that a permanent church was needed here. Reverend Ernest Bergman was the first pastor to hold regular services at what would come to be known as Bethel. It remains an active congregation to this day.