The weathered sanctuary you see here represents a turning point in our nation’s history. We believe this is the original home of Ways Grove Baptist, one of the oldest African American churches in Georgia. Its earliest members were enslaved people who once worshiped alongside their owners at nearby Ways Baptist, a white congregation in the Stellaville community.

In February 1865, months before the Civil War ended, several enslaved congregants asked for permission to hold their own services. Their request was granted, and worship first took place inside the white church, then on nearby grounds set aside for “religious purposes only.” By June of 1867, sixteen newly freed people formally organized Ways Grove Baptist with the support of four white ministers. Rev. Alfred Young became the first pastor and served for twenty years, growing the membership to 175 before his death in 1884.

We believe the structure pictured above was the first sanctuary, which also served as a school and community center. In 1888, a new church was built on the site where the present congregation still gathers. That building, later encased in brick, remains at the heart of worship today.

Ways Grove’s cemetery tells another part of the story. With more than 340 documented graves and at least 200 unmarked ones, it is one of the largest African American cemeteries in rural Georgia. Among those buried here is Deacon Sebron Brinson, born in 1811, who lived to be 104. His father, listed on census records, was born in Africa. Together, Ways Grove Baptist and Ways Baptist stand as powerful reminders of Georgia’s history. Their shared roots, one white and one Black, reflect both the hardship and resilience of communities that have endured, adapted, and carried their faith forward for more than 150 years.

The 1910 census shows Seaborn Brinson, age 88, Laborer, living with nephew Joe Brinson who is also buried at Ways Grove. A story in the News and Farmer, April 18, 1901 describes a petition by Seaborn Brinson and others to the Superior Court to incorporate under the name “Ways Grove Moral Aid Society” and to be a benevolent society to aid and assist members to bury their dead, to borrow and lend money, and to propagate the principles of charity and benevolence among mankind in general.