Alpine Presbyterian began in 1835 at Pleasant Grove in a church called Enon. Formed with just fifteen members, Enon later gave rise to the other Presbyterian congregations in Chattooga County. In Alpine, early members worshiped in the upper room of a schoolhouse once a month. As the congregation grew, they decided to build a new church and cemetery on land donated by Robert Boyles and Samuel Knox. A petition to the Cherokee Presbytery in March 1853 requested the formation of a new congregation, to be called Alpine. The sanctuary, built the same year by John Henderson and Tom Allen with materials from Samuel Knox, has seen few structural changes since.

Although peaceful today, this corner of northwest Georgia has witnessed great upheaval. The cemetery holds the grave of Hugh Montgomery, appointed by President Monroe in 1825 as Indian Agent to the Cherokee Nation. Montgomery served during the Cherokee’s fight to keep their lands, a struggle intensified after gold was discovered in north Georgia in 1828. He managed tense negotiations until the forced removal of the Cherokee in 1838, part of the Indian Removal Act under President Andrew Jackson. This tragic displacement became known as the Trail of Tears, during which thousands of Native Americans from several southeastern tribes were marched westward, opening millions of acres to white settlement. Upon retirement, Montgomery received 3,000 acres in Chattooga County, where he lived until his death in 1852.

Less than twenty-five years later, the Civil War brought new challenges. Many members fought for the Confederacy, and during Sherman’s Georgia campaign, Alpine’s sanctuary served as a Union field hospital. In September 1863, Federal forces skirmished at Alpine, resulting in casualties on both sides. Before withdrawing, Union troops stripped the Knox plantation and nearby farms of supplies, burning what they could not take.

Throughout war and Reconstruction, Alpine Presbyterian remained a source of stability and spiritual comfort. Its legacy continues under the name Alpine Community Church, reorganized in 1982, where descendants of the original members still worship today.