Photography by Mike Sussman

Sardis Baptist


Chattooga County | Organized in 1835

Sardis Baptist traces its roots to the earliest days of settlement in what was then Floyd County, formed from Cherokee lands on December 3, 1832. Just six years later, in 1838, Chattooga County was created from Floyd. These were turbulent times in northwest Georgia, as the Cherokee Nation struggled to retain its ancestral lands. By 1830, the Cherokee still occupied most of the region, but on December 21 of that year, the Georgia General Assembly claimed all Cherokee territory within the state, authorized surveys, and initiated a land lottery to distribute it to settlers.

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Local history records that Sardis Baptist was organized in 1835, when the area was still part of Floyd County. The first meeting place stood near Price's Bridge, about a mile south of the current location. In 1859, Sara Price donated an acre along the Gaylesville-Summerville Road, where the church still stands. Built in the traditional style of the era, the structure features heavy timber framing joined with wooden pegs. Before the Civil War, a gallery was added at the rear to seat enslaved members of the congregation.

The sanctuary still retains its central partition, once used to seat men and women separately. In 1942, the Chattooga Baptist Association reroofed and restored the building, and classrooms were later added to the rear. In 1981, the former slave gallery was remodeled to provide more classroom space. Beside the church stands the Fellowship Hall, donated in 1998 by Miss Lorraine and Miss Gertie Elrod. The property also once housed the Chattoogaville School, which served the community until its closure in 1940.

For nearly two centuries, Sardis Baptist has adapted to meet the needs of its congregation while preserving the character and history of this significant landmark. It remains not only a place of worship but also a living link to the earliest days of settlement in northwest Georgia.

 

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3 responses to “Sardis Baptist”

  1. Oscar Alonzo Fletcher

    Hey, I am glad to revisit this place on the website. I am Oscar Fletcher, Lorraine and Gerty Elrod were my grandmother’s sisters. (Great Aunts), every summer I spent a few weeks with them and sort of grew up around the Church. There used to be about 6 crab apple trees along the driveway between the house and the Church. When I was younger, Aunt Gerty and Aunt Lorraine lived in the old school house which is where the new house (fellowship hall), is now. They still had an out house then too… there was no indoor bathroom. The best food I have ever eaten was at the homecoming and revival at Sardis… I will have to visit you all soon

    1. Kelly Gomez

      Thanks for sharing your memories of it, Oscar!

  2. Jane Eubank

    LOVE these pictures. I have already commented some time ago on these. My father pastored this church in the 1950’s and had to resign for health reasons. I look at them often and thank the Lord that this church is still alive and well. My father’s name was Marshall Dyches.