Monroe County AlArchives Church Records.....Old Salem Baptist Church Copyright Date November 22, 1817 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.org/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.org/al/alfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Judith Nettles judithnettles@bellsouth.net and Linda Nettles lfnettles@frontiernet.net March 20, 2008, 5:40 pm In 1817, a vision began--a vision of "God's House for God's People--Then, Now, and FOrever, till Jesus Comes. 1817-1939: THE VISION BEGINS... Old Salem Baptist CHurch was organized on 11/22/1817. When the church began, there were 134 white members and 22 black members. The first building was constructed of logs and was lighted by candles. THe benches and table and chairs were dressed by hand from virgin pine and oak timbers. The hinges for the doors and windows were hammered by hand in the farmers' blacksmith shop. Wooden pegs were used to brace the framework, since nails were a luxury. The windows were covered with wooden shutters. Heat was provided by a huge fireplace made of rock from the nearby fields and woods. The pastor at this time was the Reverend Cornelius Thames. In the fall of 1819, a new church was constructed. Te building was approximately one mile south. No reason is given for the move, unless it was to be near a spring to have a baptistry and drinking water. This building was built of timber logs, again with wooden shutters and hand- made hinges. Instead of a fireplace to heat the building, there was an iron stove. Condles were still used for light. In August 1826, Salem Baptist Church gave Elder John Ellis permission to "receive and baptize persone at the new meeting house on Limestone Creek on behal of Salem Baptist Church." On November 25,1826, Salem Baptist Church granted letters for those same people, and thus a mission of Salem Baptist Church was organized into Limestone Church, which was later called First Baptist Church, Monroeville. 1839-1907: A CHANGE AND GROWTH... After a singing and prayer meeting July 2, 1839, the church met in conference and took up the question of missions. In the conference there were 18 members who rejected the theory of missions as proposed. This goup separated themselves from the church and established a new church two miles south a a village by the name of Mexia. There, they called the church the Primitive Baptist or New Salem Church. The members of the original church who favored missionary activities were call the Missionary Old Salem Baptist Church from that time on. In 1904 a deed was given to Old Salem Church from the McDonald estate for the land which the church sits on. 1907-1949: HARD TIMES, BUT, WITH THE LORD'S PRESENCE... In 1907, Old Salem Baptist Church build its first building out of lumber to take the place of the building that was built from logs. The Reverend J.A. Monsus preached the dedication sermon. In 1938, Old Salem progressed to singing praises to the Lord with a new piano, which was bought for $75. About this time, the church's deacon bench was sold for $25. Five dollars went to finish paying for the piano, and $20 was for improvements and repairs for the church. Some notable happenings in the latter part of this time in Old Salem's history were: *We were without a pastor on December 21, 1947...Meeting services as Brother T.C. Paul, pastor, was unable to come. He had been bitten by a snake. *A few short months late, on March 21, 1948, Mr. and Mrs. Zack Smith of Huxford came to visit Old Salem. What makes their visit so memorabel is that their last visit was in 1898--50 years before! *In June 1948, Old Salem Church was given its first two collections plates in its history by Miss Hattie V. Sawyer. They were bought at Good Neighbor GIft Shop in Pensacola, Florida. *Also in June 1948, Old Salem's first lumber church was wired for electric light. Two kerosene lamps had been bought from New Chapel Church for $10, and Mr Troy Hall changed the kerosene lamps into electric. Others who helped were Bartow Lloyd, James Lloyd, Alvin Brown, Wilburn Sawyer and Preston Wiggins. 1949-1977:GOD'S TIME FOR A NEW HOME... In October 1950, the church went into action to build another building, the third one at the same location. On October 25, 1950, these men started contructed the new building: JB Lloyd, Alvin Brown, Junior Bayles, Wilburn Sawyer, Charlie Sawyer, Walter Brown, Willard Nettles, Russell Nettles, TB Nettles and Eubie James. The men used some of the lumber and other things from the old building, along with other lumber and materials that people gave. When the new building was complete, only $709.57 had been spent. The old church was taken down in two days, and, with God's guidance, rebuilding was quick. The building--which consisted of a modern sanctuary, Sunday School rooms and a recreation room--was later air-conditioned. The building was constructed of yellow pine, and the interior was finished wood. The cathedral windows were donated by members of the congregation and their relatives. Brother Bartow Lloyd built and contributed the pulpit to the church. December 3, 1950, the first service was conducted in the new building with the Reverend R.G. Key. April 1, 1951, the church had its first wedding in the history of the church. Joined were Lynette Steadham and Samuel Hetherinton. June 28, 1953, God leads in another first in Old Salem's history as we hold out first Vacation Bible School. January, 1967 Old Salem Church is debt free. Withe the grace of God, Old Salem has grown adn continues to grow. To show how God works in mysterious ways: March, 1970, Old Salem's pastor, Reverend David Johnson, received a letter with a $50 money order enclosed from an anonymous person who had some years before stolen soem fans from the church. This person asked for forgiveness, which the church gave, as the Lord had already forgiven. November 22,1970, (Old Salem's 153rd birthday), the church voted 100% to go full-time for church services. This was the first time in the church's history. 1978-1987;GOD'S GUIDANCE LEADS, AND THE VISION CONTINUES... January 15-1978, groundbreaking ceremonies were led by the Reverend Ed Womack, pastor, for the present house of worship for Old Salem Baptist Church members. This building has wall-to-wall carpet, padded pews, a baptistry with a heater for the water, a choir loft with 17 padded charis and central cooling and heating. Reverend Womack preached the dedication sermon. June 1979-September 1979, Brother Thomas Jay filled in as pastor. September 3, 1979, the church called the Reverend W.C. Stabler as pastor. He began his ministry at Old Salem Baptist Church on September 16, 1979. Since 1979, much has been done. The building, which was built in 1950, has been remodeled into education space with a kitchen and fellowship hall, classrooms, bathrooms and the pastor's study. The church now is a full-time church with six deacons. Sunday School meets each Sunday at 9:45am with worship services at 11:00am Training Union is held each Sunday at 6:00pm with worship services at 7:00pm Prayer Meeting is held each Wednesday night at 7:00pm Women's Missionary Union and Brotherhood are also active. Old Salem, with God's Guiding Hand, has walked its vision for 190 years. We rejoice at Old Salem for God's presence for each of these years. As we look to the future with our Lord, we pray for continued growth as we go forward as GOD'S HOUSE FOR GOD'S PEOPLE, NOW AND FOREVER, TILL JESUS COMES. Additional Comments: Monroe Journal August 24, 2006 OLD SALEM IS OLDEST CHURCH IN COUNTY SINCE 1817 The church, according to records, was constituted November 20, 1817 and the members agreed to construct the church at the Salem School site at their June 1818 meeting. The expansive records on file at the Monroe County Heritage Museum come as far forward as the late 1800s, and document every meeting the members held. Often times the members met after a church service and they dealt with a wide variety of issues important to the church and its members. Like other churches at the time, early on Old Salem acted as a legal system for its members, forming committees to "converse" with some members before deciding to exclude them. On several instances the church elders and members voted to exclude men of the church from joining the Masons. There were other members excluded for quarrelling, adultery and drunkenness. One other note in the meeting minutes was that in 1856 a Sunday worship service and preaching were held at a man's home for his funeral. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/al/monroe/churches/oldsalem112gbb.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/alfiles/ File size: 8.8 Kb