We are pleased to share that Shady Grove Baptist has been saved and is once again thriving with a new local congregation. For years, Ms. Rebecca Wynn and her family maintained the cemetery and worked tirelessly to preserve the church. Today, her legacy lives on—her niece now plays the piano during services in the old sanctuary, and a new pastor, Rev. Jamie Snider, has breathed new life into this historic property. Though Ms. Rebecca has recently passed away, we are certain she would be smiling down with pride.

Shady Grove is a classic example of how history and faith can endure. The sign in front proclaims its organization in 1832, placing its roots in the earliest days of Harris County, formed only six years earlier after the Second Treaty of Indian Springs. That treaty, signed without authority by Creek Chief William McIntosh, led to his execution by his own tribesmen and the forced removal of the Creek people across the Chattahoochee. This was the world into which Shady Grove was born.

The original sanctuary, a log structure near the cemetery, burned in 1907. The current frame building was erected soon after, across the road, where it still stands today. Rebecca Wynn, a sixth-generation descendant of founder David Laney, grew up in the church and remained its most dedicated steward until her passing.

Among the church’s most notable members was Jesse Mercer Callaway, who served as a deacon from 1853 to 1866 before becoming pastor after the Civil War. He went on to lead Shady Grove and Antioch Baptist before moving to Troup County, where his descendants would include Fuller Callaway, founder of the great Georgia textile empire.

For nearly two centuries, Shady Grove has stood as a witness to Georgia’s history, from its earliest frontier days to its renewal in the present. Thanks to the care of families like the Wynns and the Callaways, and to the current congregation, this little church continues to serve as a beacon of faith and community in Harris County.