Macedonia Primitive Baptist Church was organized in 1848. The present Romanesque Revival structure, which is quite “high style” for a Primitive Baptist congregation, was built in 1916. The building committee were rightfully proud of their new church and listed their names on the cornerstone: R. H. Jennings was chairman, with W. E. Brim, J. H. Brim, J. E. Brim, J. R. Webb, G. D. McLendon, M. E. McLendon, and A. E. Johnston. I imagine some of those families are still represented in the church today.
Sasser Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Sasser Baptist Church is a nice example of Gothic Revival architecture. The style was very popular in church construction in the late 1800s and early 1900s because it paid homage to the grand cathedrals of Europe, and really, has never gone out of stye.
I’m not sure about the date or the church history, but it’s very similar to the Sasser Methodist Church, built in 1914 and located nearby. One architectural survey dates the Baptist Church to 1894, though that may be an establishment date. It has also been identified on maps as Sasser First Baptist Church, but the current sign on the property identifies it as Sasser Baptist Church.
Sasser Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
I was unable to locate historical background for Beulahland Missionary Baptist Church, but I imagine the congregation dates to the late 1800s or early 1900s. The cinderblock frame suggests a mid-20th-century construction, though the steeple is a tribute to churches more typical of the turn of the last century.
Findagrave identifies the graveyard located at this church as the “Salem Methodist Church Cemetery”, indicating that to be the historical name of the congregation. The current sign identifies it as New Salem Church, so a change in affiliation may have taken place in recent years.
Unidentified/unreadable. Headstone appears to be the work of Eldren Bailey.
The well-maintained country church, near Muslim Farm Road on the outskirts of Bronwood, has its origins with freedmen. The earliest identified burial dates to 1885. There are doubtless many unmarked graves.
The steps of the outdoor baptismal are branded with the numbers “666”. I’m guessing it’s symbolic for leaving evil and misdeeds behind as you emerge from the ritual.
Located in the countryside near Bronwood, Enterprise Methodist Church was an historic congregation established in 1873. According to a granite marker on the front of the building, the church was rebuilt in 1948. It’s an unusual form and sadly, has been abandoned and is succumbing to the elements. There are holes in the back roof and the sanctuary sustained serious damage at some point An adjacent cemetery is maintained, so someone still cares about this place.
Second Shiloh is of contemporary construction but the congregation has earlier origins. Per Findagrave, one of the earliest identified burials in Shiloh Cemetery in Bronwood [presumably connected to this church] is that of Steve Harris (1856-1914 or 1919), whose birthdate would indicate he was likely born enslaved. His parents were William and Ella Harris and he was a farmer.
There’s no information to be found about this church online. At least two obituaries of members of this church indicated burials at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church cemetery, so there could be a connection. It’s not something I can confirm. The building is a vernacular Gothic form most associated with Black congregations, but again, I have no information on the history. I would date it circa 1890-1920.
Jason writes: it was supposedly built in 1905, or at least that’s when the congregation first assembled. I’d imagine it would have been built within a year or two of that.
“He is never far from any of us”. One of at least ten “story windows” installed at Mount Mary in 1963.
Mount Mary Baptist Church in Chickasawhatchee, a forgotten settlement near Sasser, shares a similar history with other Black churches in the area. It was an active congregation founded by freedmen and their descendants in the late 19th century. [I’m still confirming details about the history of the church and will update when I learn more].
In 1962 Mount Mary was used for voter registration meetings by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and like Shady Grove in Leesburg and Mount Olive in Sasser, it was burned to the ground in retaliation. In fact, it was destroyed on the same day as Mount Olive, 9 September 1962. It was rebuilt in 1963. The stained glass windows are the most notable feature of the church, which was designed by Atlanta architect Joe Amisano. Trappist monks of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers are credited with the windows. I’m not sure if the other churches feature the “story windows”, with verses and illustrations. I am trying to learn more about them.
Mount Olive Baptist Church was established in Sasser in 1896 by freedmen and their descendants. In 1962, as the Albany Movement spread beyond the borders of Dougherty County with the intention of registering voters and raising civil rights awareness, it played a central role in the burgeoning Civil Rights movement. Many Black churches were resistant to the movement due to the potential for retaliation by White employers and law enforcement and many of those fears were realized at Mt. Olive, with the unapologetic support of Terrell County sheriff Zachary Taylor “ZT” Mathews. Mathews was an avowed racist and particularly irredeemable character who had most notably led the coverup in the lynching of James C. Brazier.
Because of Mount Olive’s prominence in the community, it was the primary site for the mass meetings of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and its allies, organized by Charles Sherrod. On 25 July 1962, Sherrod led a meeting at Mount Olive, with White activists Ralph Allen and Penny Patch also present. The SNCC activists were well aware of the attention they had attracted by local law enforcement but continued their work. As noted in the SNCC digital archives: Mass meetings at churches were under constant surveillance. Police sometimes stood outside the churches, taking the names of people as they entered. In Sasser, Georgia, a tiny town in Terrell County, Sheriff Zeke Matthews and a dozen deputies stormed into the Mount Olive church during a mass meeting and went from pew to pew rubbing their pistols; they then stood scowling in the back. Reporting on this for the New York Times, Claude Sitton quoted Matthews as telling him, “We want our colored people to go on living like they have for the last hundred years.”
On 9 September 1962, Mount Olive fell victim to arson, with no immediate aid from firefighters or law enforcement, begging the question of their own involvement. Zeke Mathews’s responses to journalists covering the crime were predictably despicable, blaming the arson on outside agitators. He was quoted in the 10 September 1962 edition of the New York Times: “It’s unusual for white folks to go down there living with n___ – pretty unusual. The n____s are upset about it, too – the better n___.” And he told the Atlanta Constitution: “People here are disturbed because some of these white boys are living with Negroes. I think that has more to do with the fires than this voter registration business. People here know that the Negroes just don’t care anything about voting.”
While real justice in the case(s) was questionable, the congregation of Mount Olive persisted, and with the aid of funds raised by Jackie Robinson and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was rebuilt in 1963 during the pastorate of Rev. F. S. Swaggott. It remains active today.
