Photography by Randall Davis
Jones Creek Baptist
Long | Organized 1810
On April 22, 1810, Jones Creek Baptist Church was constituted by Reverends John Goldwire and Moses Westberry along with thirteen members from Beard’s Creek Baptist. Reverend Westberry became the first pastor, serving faithfully for 35 years. In its earliest days, the congregation gathered under a brush arbor before erecting a log meetinghouse in 1817 on land given by William Walthour. By 1832, a larger frame building was added, complete with a shed for enslaved members.
+ Continue readingThe current sanctuary, completed in 1856, was designed by Hendley Foxworth Horne, a local craftsman whose home still stands nearby. Remarkably, the church has remained much the same since, though the former slave gallery has since been adapted for Sunday School rooms and now displays church memorabilia.
Church minutes, carefully preserved, offer a vivid glimpse into 19th-century rural life. In 1822, one member admitted to striking another in anger, calling him “a damned raskel,” while in 1824, two members were expelled after disputes over lying and cheating. By contrast, William H. Parker, once embroiled in conflict, was later ordained as a minister in 1844. Records also show more everyday matters, such as the 1856 decision to commission two dozen spit boxes for the sanctuary.
The Civil War also left its mark. In 1861, so many members were serving in the Confederate Army that church business was postponed. By 1865, notes reflect the challenge of how to handle “colored members who went over to the enemy.” Two years later, the church established a separate burying ground for Black members. Jones Creek Baptist remains a remarkable link to Georgia’s early 19th-century frontier and to the complex, layered history of its people. Thanks to careful stewardship, this history is still here for us to learn from today.