According to records from the North Georgia Methodist Archives, Big Springs Methodist is one of the oldest churches in the conference. Its early history was recorded firsthand in 1933 by Mrs. Laura Hall, wife of Confederate veteran John R. Hall. She recounted that in 1828, a young man named Young Hall settled on the plantation now known as the John R. Hall home in Troup County. Around this same time, a log church was built east of the house and named Big Springs for the five natural springs that flowed nearby. “This was the first and only church in the community,” she wrote.

By 1840, the congregation moved the church to its present site, replacing the log structure with a simple frame building featuring plain wooden shutters. In 1861, the current sanctuary was constructed on land donated by Nathanial Howell. The work was overseen by Dr. Beasley, and enslaved laborers carried out the construction—every board kiln-dried and prepared by hand. Marks remain on the backs of some pews, where dividing lines once separated enslaved worshippers from white congregants. Sometimes, the enslaved community held its own services, led by the same pastor, with white members seated at the back.

Despite fires, storms, and the passage of time, Big Springs has endured. The church was re-roofed in 1928, wired for electricity in 1937, and nearly destroyed by fire in 1943 before being rebuilt. A 1947 cyclone tore off the roof and gables, but once again, the congregation rebuilt.

Today, nearly two centuries later, the original 1861 structure still stands—its hand-hewn beams bearing the axe marks of long-ago craftsmen. Thanks to the dedication of generations of the Hall, Jones, and other founding families, Big Springs remains a living monument to endurance, faith, and community spirit in rural Georgia.