Beulah Baptist

Hancock County
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Org 1838
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Photography by John Kirkland

Beulah Baptist Church in Beulah, Ga is truly a rural gem. It is on a dirt road in a small clearing surrounded by pine trees and old cotton fields.  This is the third structure on the site, built in the 1880’s and sitting on stone pillars….it has the original wood siding. It is still an active church meeting on the first Sunday of each month.  The small sanctuary is simple, with a few improvements that have been made over the the years, such as space heaters and hand held fans, but the basic bones of 1890 structure are in place. 

Beulah was typical of the small,  box structures that dotted the Georgia countryside in the late 19th century, but we have little of the early history.  However, on the wall is a framed likeness of one of the earliest ministers of Beulah, Benjamin Roberts, who was a well known minister in the mid-1800’s.  He was born in North Carolina in 1794 and died in Hancock County in 1876 at the family home not far way.  He married Abigail McAllister in 1815 and the 1850 census shows they had eight children.  Rev. Roberts was one of the founders of the Washington Baptist Association in 1838 and was an active participant until his death in 1876.  He was a revered member of the community.  We did find that in 1852, he was the pastor at Beulah Baptist and there were were 104 members at that time.

The old church that sits on a dirt road, deep in rural Georgia has quietly served the Beulah community for over 150 years.  She is still active and we salute the stewardship of the Beulah congregation for taking such good care of this part of Georgia’s rural history.  Be sure to click and scroll on the photos below for more Beulah history.