Tag Archives: Churches of Screven County GA

Little Ogeechee Baptist Church, 1912, Oliver

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According to Dawn Daley, via present pastor Vernon Edenfield, this is the oldest church in Screven County, and thought to be the second oldest Baptist church in Georgia. Robert Peavy writes: Oliver native Miss Pauline Smith (1885-1963) indicated in her three-page historical sketch of the town of Oliver that the present building was erected about 1912 (when the old Methodist Church was built and when the town was incorporated—the School House, now gone, had been built in 1910). An old photograph of the short-lived Lutheran Church shows rather dimly, in the distance with the cemetery separating them, a not-overly fancy church with a neo-classical porch roof supported by four square columns, which would have replaced the original log building of the Little Ogeechee Baptist Congregation; thus, the present structure is at least the third building for this congregation, which dates to 1790. Robin Robbins also notes that the church was used as a set location for the 1974 movie, Buster and Billie.

Gravestone Art at Little Ogeechee Baptist Church Cemetery

Little Ogeechee, like many old cemeteries, is a beautiful showplace for the stonemason’s art. I’ve chosen a few of my favorite decorative headstones to share.

little ogeechee baptist church cemetery stephen t newton photograph copyright brian brown vanishing south georgia usa 2016

Stephen T. Newton (29 May 1829-6 December 1882)

little ogeechee baptist church cemetery naomi morton photograph copyright brian brown vanishing south georgia usa 2016

Naomi Morton (1806-16 October 1887)

little ogeechee baptist church cemetery bernard horton photograph copyright brian brown vanishing south georgia usa 2016

Bernard Horton Huggins (25 August 1906-26 March 1908)

little ogeechee baptist church cemetery lanier toddler photograph copyright brian brown vanishing south georgia usa 2016

Daughter of W.V. & L. O. Lanier (14 March 1917-2 February 1918)

little ogeechee baptist church cemetery florie brewer photograph copyright brian brown vanishing south georgia usa 2016

Florie A. Brewer (12 August 1845-17 September 1891)

little ogeechee baptist church cemetery oscar w brewer photograph copyright brian brown vanishing south georgia usa 2016

Oscar W. Brewer (17 October 1872-8 March 1889)

little ogeechee baptist church cemetery miss levina morton photograph copyright brian brown vanishing south georgia usa 2016

Levina Morton (20 May 1825-16 June 1899)

little ogeechee baptist church cemetery martha dugger photograph copyright brian brown vanishing south georgia usa 2016

Martha A. Dugger (14 June 1829-13 February 1897)

little ogeechee baptist church miriam lee photograph copyright brian brown vanishing south georgia usa 2016

Miriam Lee (22 February 1908-22 November 1910)

 

Methodist Church, 1912, Oliver

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This Methodist church features three large stained-glass windows with the Star of David motif, traditionally a symbol of the Jewish faith. The Star of David was common among many sects during the late Victorian era. According to Bob Peavy: The congregation of Oliver Methodist Church was established in 1907. My father was christened there in 1919; his father’s farm was a very few miles down Old Louisville Road just across Wallowing Branch (in adjacent Effingham County), and the family likely attended from the congregation’s beginning. The Methodist Church there had no cemetery; the white families of the area had been buried nearby at Little Ogeechee Baptist Church (which had been established in 1790.)

Illuminating the difficulties of tracking down church histories, Bob later wrote: A history of the town of Oliver, written in 1942 by Pauline Smith…indicated that the congregation was founded in 1899, and that this building was erected in 1912. The last church sign indicated that it was established in 1907 (I’ve not yet verified dates).

The church has most recently been used as a restaurant, Oliver on 24.

 

Newington United Methodist Church, 1916

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The railroad came to Newington in 1909, the same year the town received its charter. As there was no church in the town, the Methodists began holding Sunday School, first in a shack, and then after it burned, on the platform of the railroad depot. By 1913, efforts were underway to fund the construction of a church and it was formally dedicated in 1916.