Record book
THE CHURCHES AT GRAVEL HILL
By Nancy Wardlow Kennedy
Many years ago, Gravel Hill was a bustling, flourishing town. In fact, it was the most important town in southern McNairy County before the railroad and highway passed it by. In early 1900, Gravel Hill consisted of two general stores, a blacksmith ship and gristmill, a doctor’s office and pharmacy, a gin, lodge, school and two Baptist churches. Today, only the churches remain and their colorful history is entwined and woven together.
CONCORD PRIMITIVE BAPTIST CHURCH AT GRAVEL HILL At the beginning, there was only one church to serve the thriving community. In 1832, the Gooches and Teagues came from Mosses Creek to start the Concord Primitive Baptist church at Gravel Hill. In 1841 Zeke Springer gave two acres of land to the church. Very little is known about the early history of the Primitive Baptist Church. Some of the old minute books are lost or destroyed. No one knows where the first building was situated At one time both churches shared the same building but the reason and length of time is unknown. In the April 1883 minutes of the Missionary Baptist, it is stated that they will allow the Primitive Baptist to preach in their building until they can build. Sometimes between 1883 and 1900 the present church building was built. According to W. H. Jones, the present church was already built when he was a little boy in 1900. He remembers vividly the long, bumpy, wagon ride to church once a month. He was baptized in Huggins pond under the hill from the church. About 1935 the church was bricked and later other repairs and renovations were done. Church was held on the second Lord’s day of each month and the Saturday afternoon before, although this sometimes varied to other Sundays. The biggest years of attendance was in the 1800's. Prior to 1867 almost everyone in a three miles radius attended Concord Primitive Baptist Church. The longest pastorate was by Elder Hardwick who led the church for 33 years. Their annual Footwashing Day was held every second Sunday in May. It consisted of all day preaching, singing and dinner on the ground. It was not unusual for large crowds of people to attend. Some came for the preaching, others for the singing and for the fellowship. Only those recognized Primitive Baptist that had been baptized could participate in the Footwashing ceremony and the observance of the Lord’s Supper. Washing the Saints’ Feet was and still is an act of humility and service. As the years went by the crowds grew smaller. Today it is a practice within the domination with few outsiders attending. The Primitive and Missionary Baptist vary considerably in their beliefs. The Abstracts of Principals will not allow a Primitive Baptist to be a Mason, Woodman of the World, or be a member of any other secret society. This along with the difference concerning Sunday School, missions and the doctrines of predestination led to a split among the brethren.
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THE MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST
AT GRAVEL HILL
James M. Huggins and others left the Primitive Baptist Church in 1867 and started the Missionary Baptist church of Jesus Christ at Gravel Hill. The become a member one had to have a unanimous vote of all members present. The services varied but were usually held on at least one Saturday afternoon and Sunday a month. In 1874, J. M. Huggins gave the Missionary Baptist and acre of land and a log building in which they could worship. The first recorded Meeting of Days (revival) was in August 1879 and thirteen people were baptized in October. In 1863 it was voted to build a new building and anyone could pay their subscriptions in money, labor or lumber. Pearl Bowers Dennie describes the building as having one big room with a door facing Gooches Store and a door facing the road. Pearl tell of going every Sunday afternoon to Sunday School. In 1899, a belfry was purchased and in 1912 an organ was purchased for the sum of fifty dollars. Pearl Bowers was the first woman appointed on a committee in 1919. The first record of collecting money was in October 1892 in the amount of three dollars. Everything needed was collected for separately. The first budget was recorded in 1929. The minutes tell of trouble in the church in July 1902 and a committee was appointed to investigate. The church was dead for several years but reorganized in 1907. The members joined hands and agreed never to mention old things again. The past was forever past. Any person mentioning the problem would be excluded from the church and they carried their secret to the grave. According to an outside informant the trouble was in some members holding on to Primitive Baptist doctrine. In 1914, the Saturday afternoon meetings were stopped and soon Sunday night meetings were started. The Southern Baptist Convention was first mentioned in 1927. With Roy Huggins as foreman, the men of the church built a new building in 1935. This is the church I remember and loved. It was about this time church went from fourth time to full time. Church attendance at the Missionary Baptist was at its peak probably in the period from 1940 through 1960. I remember the big two week revivals when the church would be packed, the basement full and even people outside. For some strange reason the revivals were always held in the hottest months of the year. Training Union (BYPU) was organized in 1930 by Blanch Jaggars Armstrong and Bible School was started in 1931. A church bus served the parishioners from 1947 through 1958. Elmo Dixon and Creed Wardlow were the bus drivers. In 1966, with Sam Washburn as foreman, the men of the church built the present Missionary Baptist Church Building. It’s been over 150 years since the Gooches and Teagues came to establish a church at Gravel Hill. During that time one or both churches served the community well. Many people,
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like myself, have a heritage in both.
Information from the following families: Armstrong, Bowers, Burns, Gilbert, Gooch,
Huggins, Jones, Littlejohn, Richard and Rushing.
By Nancy Wardlow Kennedy, 1986,
published in McNairy County and Her People compiled by Lee Jaggars
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