The first services in the area
were held under a brush arbor. Each summer they would hold a week
or two-week long camp meeting. Services were held twice a day.
As the membership grew, a church
was built on Ms. Margret MacIntosh’s property. Local trees were cut
down and the church built by the members. Square nails and stained
glass were purchased to complete the two-story sanctuary. Years later,
in March 1872, Ms. MacIntosh formally deeded the property to the Fellowship
Church. The church sat in the center of the property. Rev.
Frederick White was assigned to the circuit in that year.
When the Masonic Lodge was organized
in 1872, it began meeting on the second floor of the church. In 1948,
the front of the church was remodeled to allow Lodge members to go to the
upper floor without disturbing church services. Other improvements
at that time included a new alter, carpeting, new siding, ceiling fans,
and painting the church.
After Mr. and Mrs. W.S. Terry
donated a building to the church in 1959, it was added to the back of the
church for classrooms and a fellowship hall.
On May 21, 1972, the church
celebrated its 100th anniversary under the leadership of Rev. W.D. Steagall.
At a later date, the Jim Price family donated a stained glass window to
the church.
After lightning struck the church
(pictured above right) one Sunday afternoon (August 13, 1978), the church
burned down. A new church was built in 1979 and consecrated on February
10, 1980. |
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