Evergreen Baptist

Bleckley County
|
Org 1809
|
Photography by Tony Cantrell

Evergreen Baptist, was organized in 1809 in what was then Pulasaki County, constituted in 1808.  The original name of the church was Mt. Horeb, located on the Old River Road.  Later, in the 1840s, there were storms brewing in the Baptist denomination due to fundamentalists versus progressives, who were embracing new ideas that some interpreted as running counter to the old doctrines.  The history tells us that on February 17, 1844 a group of members met to worship but found the church had been “nailed and locked out by a Brother Burkhalter.  A group of the members agreed to quit the house and build as soon as possible”.   

This was a time in history when some members within the Baptist denomination began to consider new ideas such as missions, Sunday Schools and other progressive new programs.  However, many Baptists were opposed to these new ideas and declared themselves Primitive Baptists, to signify they were the original Baptists.  The Primitives then declared non-fellowship with any member who engaged or believed in Sunday-school work, missions, theological schools or any other new-fangled institutions of the day.

The progressive members of Mt. Horeb resolved to form a separate church and appointed a building committee to select a proper site.  The members selected the name Evergreen for the new church, and they met at the Methodist Campground on Longstreet Road for a time.  The church you see above was completed in 1846.  The history also reminds us that the church was built in the time of slavery, with a gallery built to accommodate the African American members, who outnumbered the white members.  It states that “In 1870, the Negroes chose to worship separately, so they were dismissed to their own fellowship”.

We are grateful to the members of Evergreen who have provided stewardship of the church and its history for all this time.  Improvements have been made over the years, but the basic bones of the sanctuary have stood for over 170 years and she is still going strong.  Be sure to click and scroll the gallery photos below for more Evergreen Baptist history.