A centennial pamphlet records that Pleasant Grove was founded as Pleasant Grove Methodist Protestant in 1854. The Methodist Protestant denomination had been established in Georgia in 1828, and was often described as “democratic Methodism” since congregations called their own pastors. Pleasant Grove was the only Methodist Protestant church in Haralson County. It eventually merged with the Methodist Episcopal Church, later the United Methodist Church, though not without some dissension.

The first church was a simple log structure with a school beside it. The beautiful sanctuary you see today was built in 1894. In the 1950s, the building was moved slightly back from the road and turned to its current orientation. Over the years, improvements were made, but many original elements remain intact, a testament to the congregation’s devotion to preserving their heritage.

The land for the church and cemetery was donated by Seaborn Solomon McGarity and his wife, Carolyn Biggers McGarity. Seaborn’s father, Abner McGarity, was born in Ireland in 1780 and migrated through Virginia and the Carolinas before settling in Georgia around 1798. Seaborn was born in Elberton in 1814, later moved to Fulton County as Atlanta grew, and eventually purchased a 15,000-acre tract straddling Paulding and Haralson Counties. He and Carolyn raised their family there, and their legacy lives on: 34 members of the McGarity family are buried in the church cemetery.

The cemetery also holds the graves of many Confederate veterans. Like countless rural churches across Georgia, Pleasant Grove carries a silent testimony to the Civil War era. Church records from the 1860s rarely mention the war, though cemeteries remind us of the immense losses. Behind every gravestone are families who endured hardships, and many loved ones who never returned home. Today, Pleasant Grove remains an enduring symbol of rural faith and community. Its well-maintained sanctuary, cemetery, and long history reflect the devotion of generations who treasured this sacred ground.