Wrightsboro Methodist

McDuffie County
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Org 1773
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Photography by Gail Des Jardin

Click HERE  to take a tour of Wrightsboro Methodist

The Wrightsboro Methodist Church is located on a small hill in a fascinating historic setting. On this site in 1754, Edmund Grey, founded the Quaker town of Brandon. At this time, the area would have been inhabited by Native Americans and not open to legal settlement. In 1768, following the Treaty of Augusta which ceded this land to the swelling tide of European settlers, forty thousand acres of land was given to Joseph Mattock and Jonathan Sell by Royal Governor James Wright, who were also Quakers. A thousand acres of this land was set aside for the Town Proper, which was later incorporated as the city of Wrightsboro in 1799. The first meeting house would have been constructed at about this time, and some records show that two buildings were built and burned before the church now standing was constructed.

The current structure was built between 1810 and 1812 by the selling of public subscriptions and land. The Georgia General Assembly granted the commissioners of the town of Wrightsboro permission to sell three 50 acre lots and use proceeds of up to $500 to build a house of worship for all Christian Denominations to hold services. We are still searching for records that would have belonged to one of these early congregations , but they appear to have vanished with time. Available records pick up in 1877, which is when the public church was deeded to the Methodist Church. The Methodists asserted that they used the church most often, and that the property would be best served if ownership was transferred to them. The community agreed and handed the church and two acres over to the Methodist Church South. By 1964, the Methodists had disbanded after being active for over 125 years and the ownership reverted back to the public as McDuffie county became caretaker.

Ancestors of prominent Georgia families are buried at Wrightsboro Methodist, including the ancestors of Asa G. Candler – founder of the Coca-Cola company and mayor of Atlanta from 1916 to 1919. An early Quaker burial ground is about a mile east of this church on a hill overlooking a small creek. Only rough field stones mark the graves. While the town of Wrightsboro is no longer an active community, the immediate area houses some of the most interesting historic structures and stories in the state. We encourage you to drop by and spend some time – you won’t be disappointed. To learn more about the history of Wrightsboro click here

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