According to Victor Davidson’s History of Wilkinson County (1930), Mt. Olive Primitive Baptist Church was organized on May 25, 1837, by Rev. William Payne and his wife Sarah, along with Benjamin Fordham, Nathaniel Cannon, Miles and Nancy Cannon, John and Prudence Holliman, Anna Burkhalts, and Martha Payne—members who came from nearby Big Sandy Baptist Church. The land was donated by Nathaniel Cannon, a Revolutionary War veteran, who is buried here beside his wife, Frances Sumner Cannon. The church joined the Ebenezer Primitive Baptist Association and, at one time, was known as Evergreen. Its cemetery lies on both sides of Mt. Olive Church Road, a striking feature that reflects its long history.

The congregation’s formation in 1837 coincided with the “missionary schism” in Georgia Baptist life, when churches divided over issues like Sunday Schools, missions, and instruments in worship. While the exact date of this sanctuary is unclear, architectural details suggest a construction date between 1880 and 1900, replacing an earlier log or frame meetinghouse.

The cemetery helps trace the lives of the Cannon family, central to the church’s story. Nathaniel (1760–1844) and Frances (1778–1850) are the earliest recorded burials. Later generations served in the Civil War, including Miles Jefferson Cannon, a sergeant in the 49th Georgia Volunteer Infantry. His brothers Nathan and Nathaniel died at Seven Pines (1862) and Gettysburg (1863), while Wiley Lewis Cannon died in Delhi, Louisiana, in 1862.

Curiously, there is a 39-year gap between the earliest Cannon graves (1844 and 1850) and the next marked interment in 1886. This raises questions: Were Nathaniel and Frances’ stones cenotaphs placed later? Or did the church not occupy this site until the late 1800s? Though the year of disbandment is unknown, the church building—now privately owned—still stands and is well cared for. Its survival offers a rare glimpse into early Georgia religious history and the lives of the pioneer families who shaped it.