Generations of Clarks and their kin have worshiped on this same spot since Charles Clark, the family patriarch, built a small wooden chapel on his Burke County plantation in 1847. The chapel passed to the Methodist Episcopal Church South in 1878, but after the last active circuit preacher left in 1977, the family resumed responsibility for its care. Today, the Clark clan gathers here for weddings, reunions, and funerals in the adjacent cemetery.

Charles Clark, buried near his original farmhouse two miles away, along with both of his wives, was a prosperous planter. Between Eleanor Carswell, his first wife, and Sarah Murphey, his second, he fathered 25 children—23 of whom survived into adulthood. Family lore says he built the chapel because it was too difficult to bring such a large household into town for services. Much of the family’s story is told in the chapel’s opalescent glass windows, likely installed in the 1920s or ’30s. Three windows line the front, dedicated to Charles (center), Eleanor (left, who bore nine children before her death), and Sarah (right, who bore sixteen). Eight additional windows along the side walls memorialize members of later generations and their spouses.

Despite a fire in the late 1800s, the heart pine floors, pews, and most furnishings remain original. The building retains its primitive charm—there is no indoor plumbing, and water is piped from a neighbor’s well. The small sanctuary seats about 200. A capped chimney pipe and a blackened ceiling mark where a potbelly stove once stood, while dividers on the center pews reflect the old tradition of separating men and women during worship.

With rows of short pews along the sides and a wide central row, the layout preserves a tangible link to 19th-century rural worship. Today, the chapel remains exactly what Charles Clark intended: a simple, enduring sanctuary for his family and their descendants—a true step back in time and a living testament to their heritage.