The exact date of Possum Trot Church’s founding is uncertain, but it is believed to date to around 1850. Originally, the meeting place for Pleasant Valley Church, it was abandoned in the late 1800s. In 1900, it was given a new purpose when Martha Berry, daughter of a wealthy Floyd County planter, reopened it as a Sunday School for the local community.

Martha McChesney Berry devoted her life to education in northwest Georgia, establishing schools to provide poor mountain children with opportunities they would not otherwise have had. In 1902, she founded the school in Rome that would become Berry College. Born October 7, 1865, in Alabama to Frances Margaret Rhea and Thomas Berry, Martha came from Scots-Irish ancestry that had settled in America in the early 18th century. Her father was a lieutenant in the Mexican War, a Forty-niner during the California gold rush, and a Confederate captain in the Civil War. Her mother was the daughter of an Alabama planter. The family moved to Rome when Martha was an infant, and she lived there for the rest of her life.

At the turn of the century, rural residents in northwest Georgia had little access to formal schooling or organized Sunday School. Determined to change this, Martha began her work at Possum Trot, earning the nickname “The Sunday Lady of Possum Trot.” Families soon filled the small chapel, and with too few Bibles to go around, scripture verses were painted directly on the walls. In the early 1930s, classrooms were added, and formal grammar school lessons began. From 1942 to 1948, during and after World War II, the school closed, reopening briefly before closing again in 1954.

Today, thanks to the dedication of Berry College students, alumni, and volunteers, the historic church and school have been restored. Their preservation ensures that the story of Martha Berry’s vision, and her work to bring education to those who needed it most, will continue to inspire future generations.