Poplar Springs Baptist Church is a simple, box-style structure tucked away in a remote part of Carroll County, one of Georgia’s westernmost counties along the Alabama border. Carroll County was established in June 1825 as the thirty-first of Georgia’s thirty-two original counties. All of the land had belonged to the Creek Nation until it was ceded in the Treaty of Indian Springs in 1825, signed by a group of chiefs led by William McIntosh. McIntosh was later killed by members of his own people for his role in the treaty. His home stood along the Chattahoochee River in present-day Carroll County, and much of his land, known since 1825 as the McIntosh Reserve, is now a county park.

While little detailed history of Poplar Springs Baptist is available, records show the congregation was founded on September 25, 1840, in the community of Poplar Springs. The original members were among the pioneer families of the Smithfield area. Their first church was a log building located where the old cemetery now stands. The current sanctuary’s construction date is uncertain, but it is believed to have been built in the late 1800s. Today, the church remains active and well cared for.

The adjoining cemetery is one of the largest in Carroll County, with 470 recorded burials. Of these, 47 date to before 1900, and both Revolutionary War and Civil War veterans are buried here. During the Civil War, Carroll County contributed more soldiers to the Confederate army than any other county in Georgia except Chatham County, despite the fact that many residents held strong Unionist views.

Poplar Springs Baptist stands as both a place of worship and a historic landmark, preserving the memory of the early settlers who shaped this part of Georgia.