Little Ogeechee Baptist Church, located in the small community of Oliver, was organized in 1790 on five acres of land donated by Hugh Graham. The congregation’s first meeting house was a simple log structure, replaced by another in 1805 and again in 1831. When the current church was built in 1912, the older building was sold to St. John’s Colored Church for $125 and moved by mules on rolling logs. Remarkably, when that 1831 structure was eventually torn down, its original sills were said to be as sound as the day they were laid.

The 1831 church was described as being “of sawed lumber and of spacious dimensions,” and when the 1912 sanctuary was erected along the nearby stagecoach road, it continued that legacy. It still stands today as one of Georgia’s oldest continuously active Baptist congregations.

According to the History of the Georgia Baptist Association, several early churches—including Little Ogeechee—adopted the practice of foot washing as a sacred ordinance. In 1797, the members voted unanimously that it was their duty to participate. Church records from those years reveal strict discipline as well; one entry notes a brother and his wife were “excommunicated from our union and communion for several causes such as horse racing, dancing, and frequently using spirituous lickors.” By 1855, the church had established four mission churches throughout the region.

The cemetery beside the church is a history book in itself. Revolutionary War veterans rest here, and many graves bear Confederate flags marking Civil War soldiers. The grounds are shaded by ancient cedar trees and lie within the path of Sherman’s March to the Sea—Union troops reportedly camped at the church and used the fenced cemetery as a corral for their horses.

One of Little Ogeechee’s most distinctive features is its unusually short steeple, said to have been lowered after a tornado damaged the original. Inside, the 1912 wooden pews and plank walls evoke a time gone by, complete with a “pie plate” ceiling vent once used to circulate warm air from the wood fires below. We salute the congregation of Little Ogeechee for more than two centuries of faithful stewardship. History has lived here for over 225 years—and thanks to their care, it will continue for generations to come.