The first Methodist services
at Holly Grove may have been conducted by Rev. Henry Stephenson.
He held services in the local schoolhouse in 1826. In 1837, Rev.
Luke Conerly and J.W. Franklin bought 40 acres of land and patented it
to the Holly Grove Church.
Although the congregation began
as a Methodist Protestant church, when Joel Sanders was appointed in 1841
it was taken over by the Methodist Episcopal Church. Rev. Sanders’
circuit was from Bienville to Holly Grove, then across Bayou Toro at its
mouth to Negreet, then to Many, then to Bayou Scie, then to Pleasant Hill,
and finally back to Bienville.
A log building, 24 by 30 feet,
was constructed in 1854 (at approximately the same location as the present
church). Hewn logs were used for the pulpit and the pews. The
building was also used as a school during the week. The log church
was replaced with a boxed church in 1872. In 1894 a two-story frame
church was built by the congregation. The Masons used the second
floor, and church services were held on the first. The porch was
four feet high so that ladies could easily dismount from their horses.
The second floor was removed and an addition was added to the north side
of the building in 1915.
A new church was constructed
across the road from the old church in 1977. The old church was left
with its furnishings and was placed on the National Register of Historic
Places in 1980. |
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