Shortly after Troup County was organized, a small but determined group of twelve settlers came together to establish a church devoted to the worship of God. On February 11, 1829, they officially organized what was first called Smith’s Meeting House. Just a year later, on February 2, 1830, the name was changed to Flat Shoals Meeting House.

The church’s first house of worship was erected sometime between 1832 and 1836, about seven or eight hundred feet west of where the present sanctuary stands today. The land was purchased and deeded to the church in August 1833. That original building was about half the size of the current one. Later, a meeting house from nearby Old Troup Factory was moved intact and joined to the existing structure, creating the expanded church that still serves the congregation. The ceiling boards were hauled by wagon from the mountains of North Georgia, and the sills that support the sanctuary were hand-hewn from solid heart timber—a testament to the craftsmanship of its builders.

Across the road, the Flat Shoals Cemetery sits atop a gentle rise, shaded by old trees. Here rest many of Troup County’s earliest settlers and numerous Civil War veterans, including several from Company B of the 60th Georgia Infantry Regiment, which fought in the Lawton-Gordon-Evans Brigade of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Of the 7,000 men who once served in the brigade, fewer than 750 remained at Appomattox in 1865—a sobering reminder of the immense loss felt in communities like this one.

For nearly 200 years, Flat Shoals Baptist has stood as a steadfast witness to faith and resilience. Thanks to its devoted members, this historic sanctuary and its quiet hilltop cemetery remain a treasured piece of Georgia’s story—preserved for generations yet to come.