We’ve seen many abandoned churches across Georgia’s backcountry—so many that we created a category for them called Almost Gone But Not Forgotten. At first glance, Cool Springs Primitive Baptist in Wilkinson County seemed destined for that list. It had no cemetery and appeared to be just another forgotten frame church overtaken by pines and briars. But this site held more history than we expected—reaching from the Georgia Supreme Court to the founding of Stuckey’s roadside empire.

The story begins in Allentown, a thriving community established after the Creek land cessions of the early 1800s. In 1809, settlers organized the first Cool Springs Primitive Baptist Church where the Allentown Cemetery stands today. Over time, members splintered into two new congregations. One moved west into Twiggs County in 1876, and another moved east into Wilkinson County. On October 10, 1878, Nelson Stuckey deeded two acres here for the “New Cool Springs Church.” This is the building you see above, later converted to a Holiness church before being abandoned in the 1970s. Nelson’s brother John moved to Dodge County, where his grandson, W.S. Stuckey, founded the Stuckey’s retail chain that once boasted more than 350 roadside stores.

Research into the early Allentown congregation also uncovered a remarkable legal story. John W. Allen, son of Allentown’s founder, left a will in 1856 that attempted to free one enslaved woman, Eliza, and her three children, providing money for their resettlement. But in 1860, the Georgia Supreme Court struck down the manumission clause, ruling it invalid. Eliza and her children were instead sold into slavery—a sobering reminder of the legal and human realities of that era.

As for the church itself, photos chart its decline. In the 1970,s it still stood with a porch, hedges, and even an air conditioner. By 2019, the forest had closed in and the porch was gone. By 2023, the land had been cleared, and the old sanctuary was finally torn down.

Cool Springs may be gone, but its story—woven with faith, commerce, and the struggle for freedom—remains an important part of Georgia’s history.