Marion-Webster County GaArchives Church Records.....Shiloh-Marion Baptist Church ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: ANGELA COVINGTON AANGEL4KEN@ALLTEL.NET June 21, 2005, 12:46 pm Historical Narrative The Shiloh-Marion Church is the most significant extant physical link with the history of the once substantial community of Church Hill. It is the only remaining church the five churches that gave the crossroads town of Church Hill its name. What began as a Baptist missions point in the 1810's became Shiloh-Marion Baptist Church in 1835. At the time a congregation of eight organized and joined the Bethal Baptist Association, one of the earliest Baptist organizational structures in this part of southwest Georgia (founded in 1833). In 1859, Shiloh Church left the Bethal Association and became a charter member of the newly forned Friendship Baptist Association. Worship services were held at Shiloh on Saturdays and Sundays from the founding date in 1835 to 1935.After that date church archived show no records of participation in the Friendship Association of of services bring held at Shiloh until 1947. At that time, under the leadership of the Reverend Edgar Welch, Shiloh-Marion Baptist Church was reorganized. In 1952, Shiloh-Marion was voted back into the Friendship Baptist Association. Shiloh-Marion- A Broader Context The history of Shiloh-Marion Baptist Church began in 1812 when a Methodist and Baptist missions station was established at a point between Kinchafoonee Creek and the west fork of Lanahassee Creek aling a major trading path. This trade route was the branch of Timothy Barnard's Path which went from the Chattahoochee River to the town of St Marys on the coast. With the Creek Cessions of 1826-1827, white settlers began to come into the southwest and sout central Georgia. This influx of settlers accompanied by the improvement of the old trading paths and the creation of a network of new roads. Where these roads crossed new communities were established. Such was the case with the missions point that became the site of Shiloh- Marion Baptist Church. Between 1830 and 1840 several roads were built in the area of what is now the southern Marion and northern Webster Counties. The most important of these roads was St Marys Road (Also known as the Old Salt Trail), which essentially followed Barnard's Path from Columbus to St Marys. Construction of the St Marys was approved by the Georgia legislature in 1831 and actually began in 1832. The lives of Church Members were watched, and if they did not walk the straight and narrow path they were tried and turned out of the church. The Ministers received very little pay for their services. They were paid mostly with food supplies such as flour, meal, cured hams, and potatoes. In those days when a church conference was held, the main business was to report the moral and spiritual conditions of the members, scarcely anything was said about the financial situation of the church. The Methodist and Baptist churches, were the leading religious denominations in this county. In the period from 1830-1831, churches were constructed of pine logs which in later years (1870's) were reconstructed into neat frame buildings. The large open fireplaces were discarded and pot-bellied stoves installed. "Brush arbor" or camp meetings were popular in certain areas. Candles were first used to light the church, then kerosene lamps. All denominations participated with each other and the congregations would be greatly moved with religious fervor. Revivals in those days had a lasting influence on the character and lives of the people. Those early settlers (our forefathers) felt religion much more deeply than people do today. The "Social" affairs of the church were all day meetings with "Dinner on the Ground". Members would bring a big basket lunch, and spread delicious food in the table outside under shady trees. Water was brought from the spring which is still present below Shiloh Church in the woods. Among the social customs in those days was "House raising". When a man wished to build a log home, he cut his logs and prepared the other materials. Then he invited his neighbors to come and help him raise the logs to their places and thus form his house. Other customs included "log rolling" (when new ground had to be cleared), corn shucking, and hunting for food as well as for sport. The ladies enjoyed quilting, and conversation. Parties were held in some of the homes with music from old time fiddlers and dancing in which young and old joined. In 1846, one of the chief amusements was fix hunting. Many of the planters kept packs of hounds which were well trained and highly prized. Kinchafoonee Swamp to the west of Church Hill was the scene of some very lively racing. Other popular sports were cock fighting and horse racing. Many plantations had slaves; in 1830, census reports show 109 slaves increasing to 1070 in 1840. The mention of the number of slaves is very important because listed in the history we find how many members of Shiloh had of both black and white. From 1860 until 1870, slave membership was listed as found in the archives at Mercer University. In 1871, there are no slave members listed. The Civil War which started April 12, 1861, lasted 4 years until 1865. It destroyed slavery in the United States. It undid the Southern way of life that depended on slave labor in the cotton and tobacco fields. The black people began their own churches at this point in our history. Additional Comments: From A Historical View of Church Hill File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/marion/churches/shilohma91bb.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/gafiles/ File size: 6.0 Kb