Our Heritage
The Story of Shoal Creek Baptist Church
A place of faith, community, and endurance since 1842.
Built by Settlers, Kept by Faith
The exact events surrounding the beginning of the Shoal Creek Baptist Church are unclear. Like most of their contemporaries elsewhere, the pioneering people who ventured into new territory in Alabama to homestead and make a life were more focused on their urgent needs rather than leaving a detailed record for posterity. They knew that if they weren't successful there would be no posterity. Among their needs were those of worship and community; met by creating the Shoal Creek Church. Their legacy to us is borne in our attraction to their homeland and our felt fondness for the last remaining structure of their once-thriving mountain community.
The log cabin church that stands today is the third house of worship located on this site. It was raised by hand in about 1895, using timber cut from the surrounding forest. Its walls have heard generations of hymns, prayers, and the quiet weight of grief and joy alike. It is one of the oldest standing structures of its kind in the region.
Significant Dates
European settlers immigrate
Upon the forced relocation of the Muscogee (Creek) peoples from Eastern Alabama, settlers of European heritage began to arrive and homestead in this Appalachian foothills territory. The first church on this site was a Primitive Baptist congregation established about 1842.
Community Transitions
It is believed that this Primitive Baptist body dissolved in the late 1870s or early 1880s after which a Missionary Baptist church was organized. This current log structure was built about 1895. The only surviving church record from 1898 shows 63 male members and 76 female members.
Church disbands
By the early years of the twentieth century, the community inhabitants had begun to gradually leave their mountain homes for more attractive, flatter land in Cleburne County and adjoining Calhoun. The last services of this church were in September 1914. The lands of the settlers of this area were purchased by Burt Timber Company and Alabama Mineral Lands Company. These timber companies in turn sold the land to the US Government to permit the formation of the Talladega National Forest as part of the New Deal. The 2.8 acres around the Shoal Creek Church and graveyard is privately owned, though the US Forest Service graciously maintains half-mile gravel roads to accommodate visitors.
Preservation Efforts
The church's survival depends on the settlers' descendants who voluntarily keep up the building and grounds including the adjacent graveyard. The church was placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the US Department of the Interior in 1974. The Shoal Creek Church Preservation Society was created and incorporated in 1987 by prominent local descendants. This is the group that continues to care for the physical remnants and guard the legacy of their forebearers.
Ongoing Activities
The only scheduled activity for the Shoal Creek Baptist Church is an annual Sacred Harp singing held each Labor Day (fasola.org). This annual singing has been ongoing since 1921. Otherwise, the church is used for occasional weddings, reunions, and "old-fashioned" church services.
More detail of the history of the church is found in this excellent article from Alabama Heritage magazine from 2009 written by Joe Jones. Read the article (PDF)
"They built it to last. We carry it forward."
— Shoal Creek Baptist Church Preservation Society, Inc.