Photography by Scott MacInnis
Center Methodist
Oglethorpe | Organized 1813
Center Methodist Church was constituted in 1813. It was founded on the strategic ridge that separates the Broad and Oconee Rivers in Oglethorpe County, which was created in 1793. The founders were David McLaughlin, David Patrick, George Williamson, George Moore, and John Beasley, all prominent early citizens of Oglethorpe County. The county was known as the “Mother of Statesmen” because of the number of Georgia leaders who came from it prior to 1850.
+ Continue readingThe church site was near what would later become the town of Stephens, named after Alexander Stephens, Vice President of the Confederate States and Governor of Georgia. The area was originally known as Antioch or Antioch Depot. Center was founded as a non-denominational meeting house shared by the Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians.
Center was aptly named when it was first constructed, serving as the center of activity in this sparsely settled pioneer community. Neighbors met here for fellowship, couples courted in the churchyard, and worshippers entered the rough log cabin, separating by gender as they took their places on puncheon benches set on the hard-packed earthen floor. To break the intensity and discomfort of the long sermons, parishioners would take turns using the gourd dipper in the cedar bucket of water sitting nearby.
The current sanctuary is the third house of worship to stand on the original site. The first, a hand-hewn log structure, served until 1852. During those early years, the denominations shared the building until the Baptists relocated to Antioch Baptist Church around 1820, and the Presbyterians later moved to Beth Salem and Lexington Presbyterian churches by the mid-1820s. The Methodists continued to occupy the original building until they raised a new church in 1852.
The beautiful frame structure that stands today was constructed in 1914. It is located just a few miles from China Grove, the historic home of Ferdinand Phinizy near his businesses at Bowling Green, once the site of a famous racetrack. Today, a small group of dedicated worshipers still gathers at Center Methodist each month, continuing the traditions of their predecessors.
Thank you to the congregation and community for preserving this important piece of Georgia history.