Rosemary Primitive Baptist Church was constituted on October 30, 1875, by six charter members seeking a place of worship closer to home: Allen and Mariah Jones Lanier, William and Susan Dekle Lanier, Thomas Lanier (son of Allen and Mariah), and Benjamin Olliff. William and Susan came by letter from Lake Church, while the others transferred from Antioch Church.

Originally called The Primitive Baptist Church of Christ at Rosemary Hill, the name came from the rosemary plant with red blooms that grows on the nearby sand hills. Meetings were first held under a brush arbor on white sand, surrounded by scrub oak, virgin pine, huckleberry bushes, and rosemary plants. A nearby spring provided fresh water, and baptisms took place in a lake on Fifteen Mile Creek.

The congregation’s first log meetinghouse, long and narrow with open shelters on three sides, was built in 1881 on five acres donated by Hiram Jones. Benches were made of split logs on wooden blocks, and the floor remained the native white sand. In 1905, the present sanctuary was constructed under the supervision of a German builder, Mr. Ringwald, with help from church members and the community.

Rosemary played a role in supporting African American worshippers after the Civil War. In 1878, the congregation helped organize Oak Grove Church near Jones Bridge, furnishing it with a Bible and hymn book.

Over the years, Rosemary has been lovingly maintained. In 1965, the interior was remodeled with new paneling, frosted-glass windows, a lower ceiling, and a block foundation. The original 1905 heart pine pews—1½ inches thick and 15 inches wide—remain in use, now padded and covered in gold fabric to match the carpet.

A centennial gift from the Jones Family Reunion in 1975 funded landscaping and shrubbery. The church cemetery began in 1885 with the burial of 14-year-old George Marshall Jones, who died of typhoid fever; the second grave was his grandmother, Mary Lanier Jones.

Today, Rosemary Primitive Baptist remains active in the Old Line Primitive Baptist Association, with 75 members, including direct descendants of its founders. Nearly 150 years after its founding, it continues to stand as a testament to faith, family heritage, and community in rural Georgia.