Young’s Chapel Methodist Church, located in Ben Hill County, began humbly in a brush arbor around 1875 and served its rural congregation for nearly a century before closing in 1974 due to dwindling membership. Once a part of the long-vanished Ashley community, the chapel now sits near Rebecca, Georgia.

The original structure was built on the same site where the first brush arbor gatherings were held. However, the congregation later moved the building about three miles to its current location. The land for the relocated church was donated by John Thomas Young, grandfather of Marsha McWhorter of Fitzgerald and Travis Biggers. Johnny Young, who grew up in the church, estimates the chapel was built around 1876.

The church was named for the Young family, who were longtime members and community leaders. Among them were:

• Martin Young, a state senator and county commissioner

• Clyde Young, a state representative

• J.R.F. Young, a Ben Hill County school board member

• S.S. Young, Sr., tax collector of Wilcox County

• S.B. Young, treasurer of the church

• Emma Young, longtime pianist

Other known members included Sammy Young, Wiley Young, Able Young, Tommy Young, Hazel Snow, Helen Brooks, and Minnie Brown. Services were held every third Sunday.

In 1971, the few remaining members made one final effort to renovate the chapel in hopes of keeping it open. But by 1974, only eight members remained, and the church officially closed.

Ben Hill County’s only incorporated city, Fitzgerald, has its own unique historical roots. Founded on a 50,000-acre tract by former Union soldiers under the American Tribune Soldiers Colony Company, Fitzgerald was a symbol of post-war reconciliation. The city’s founders named its streets after leaders from both the Union and Confederate armies, pledging unity and healing.

Efforts were made in recent years to raise funds to stabilize the old church, but tragedy struck in 2017, when a tornado tore through the building, destroying the back wall and delivering what many saw as the final blow to any hope of restoration. Still, the memories remain. Sam Young, a descendant of the founding family, shared this reflection: “I grew up sitting on the first row of pews, watching my mother, Emma Caroline Wootten Young, play the piano while my dad (S.B. Young) kept the fire going in the old potbelly stove. I was baptized there when I was around 11 or 12. We had one gentleman who drove his tractor 13 miles just to come to church with us. Fond memories of that place and it’s sad to see it deteriorating so quickly.”