DOROTHY JOHNSON
LIBERTY HILL BAPTIST CHURCH·THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2019·
This Church as we see and know it today, this worship place with its soft cushioned pews, beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, custorn made draperies designed floral arrangements, inside baptismal pool, central air to cool us in summer and central heat to warm us in winter. It is not the biggest nor is it the most b
eautiful in the eyes of man; but to those who love this Church, it is. This Church's beauty and size do not come from an architectural design but from the heart of its worshippers. We talk, sing and pray about how blessed we are, also just how far the Lord has brought us. Church you will never know just how true this is unless you take a journey with me way back in time around the 19th century. Visualize if you will and think as I tell the story, as told to me by various members while researching the History of our Church. I am sure you will be very glad you did. The Church t the real Church, the true Church, the everlasting Church, the one Christ spoke of when He said to Peter, Upon this Rock I will build my Church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. Christ did not mean Peter would be the Rock from which He would build His Church but the Truth to which Peter confessed that Jesus was the Son of God (Matthew 16:18). The Church began with man, in the heart of man, and it will end right where it began. LIBERTY HILL BAPTIST CHURCH AT ITS BEGINNING. It was the 19th century, the year 1869 four years after slavery was abolished (1865), Ulysses S. Bullock was governor of Ga and Columbus was still in the dark ages, Liberty Hill Baptist Church as it is known today was born. The birth of this Church took place in the heart of a small group of not yet freed slaves working in the fields of their Slave Master. I was told they had to work from sun up to sun down, Noon was their break (12: O’clock) but the poor souls couldn’t tell time; so, they learned to tell time by the sun and moon. When one of them thought it was about that time, he would look up in the sky to see the position of the sun then begin singing: This was to let the others know it was time to come in out of the fields. Since it was a message in the form of a song, I believe one of the Songs he sang was COME TOGETHER CHILDREN DONT YOU GET WEARY OR IT ANT GOING TO BE LIKE THIS ALWAYS. The echo would carry through the fields, (can’t you hear it church); one by one they joined in singing coming across the fields. Just look at them walking across those fields with joy in their hearts, wiping the sweat from their brows, trying to get to their meeting place some where out of the sun. Perhaps it was under a tree, in a tent or the buck board of a wagon some place in that field where the physical body was enslaved but not the soul was the birth of this church. What a beautiful beginning. THE FIRST WORSHIP BUILDING ERECTED - GEOGRAPHICS. From the fields the saints met in homes or what ever place they found available to them to worship. Having moved from place to place they wanted a permanent place to worship. God's faithful carried the desire of their heart in prayer: God had promised his children to bring "your needs before Me in prayer and He would hear and answer the prayer of faith" . God heard and answered their prayers leading them to this place. As the story goes, the land had nothing on it but bushes, vines and trees, therefore, it was called Piney Woods. There were no modern facilities, an out house was used for privy, oil lamps to see by, coal or wood to keep warm and the breeze from the trees was their relief from the heat. Forrest Road was a dirt road and had no name, just the dirt road leading to the PO — House Road. This was the only road in the entire area with a name; it was the main road, the connecting point, whereby, everything and everybody was identified. If you lived anywhere near by in this area, you were located as living close to the PO — House Road which is Schatulga Road. The land was cleared by the saints using whatever hand tools they had a hoe, sickle (similar to a swinging blade) and shovels. Ever— thing that was cleared off the land was saved to be used later. the foundation was the trees from the land placed in an upright position in the ground for support, the roof was made of vines f sticks and bushes, there were no windows., walls or doors: The seats were tree stumps, huge rocks or they sat on the ground. It is said that they worshiped in this dwelling for six years. During the winter months they placed cold buckets through out their. place of worship to keep warm. Because of the way it was constructed, together with the material used; it was called the BUSH ARBOR CHURCH. The founders named it LIBERTY CHÜRCH TO them it meant freedom, freedom to worship God as they pleased. The first pastor of the ARBOR CHURCH was REV. PHIL OWENS. CHURCH'S PROPERTY. The land that the Arbor Church was built was a two connecting pieces of property owned by Mrs. Emma Jones and Mrs. Nora Felton: MRS. JONES gave the parcel of land to the left and MRS. FELTON gave the parcel of land to the right. GOVERNMENT CENTER RECORD. JAMES J. HUNTER TO HENRY MITCHELL, WILLIAM WORNIUM
AND CHARLES FINCHER (TRUSTEES) RECORDED MARCH
MARCH 14, 1874
THE LAND WAS GIVEN JULY 8, 1871
JULY 2, 1927: G.P. HUNTER TO E.M. JACKSON, JIM GRAY
MARCH BRYANT AND JOHN WESLEY (TRUSTEES) $1.00 PD. QUIT CLAIM. RECORDED JULY 5, 1927
2 ACRES 19th DISTRICT LOT 55
BOUNDED N. BY POOR HOUSE RD. (NOW SCHATULGA RD.) W. BY LAND OF JAMES FELDER; S. BY LANDS OF EMMA JONES;
E. BY MUSCOGEE COUNTY, -RECENTLY PURCHASED FOR SCHOOL
PURPOSES
JULY 12, 1956 MINUTES OF BD OF TRUSTEES
WESLEY McCoy, BISHOP BRYANT, MAJOR WILLIAMS,
C.V. HILL AND JOHNNIE SR, JR. EYLECTED
AGREEMENT TO EXECUTE WARRANTY DEED MOZELLE SILVERS, SECRETARY
BISHOP BRYANT, CHAIRMAN DEACON BD., TREASURER REV. J. H. ANDERSON
$245.00 ($20 1st 11 MTH. $25 12th MTH)
The ARBOR CHURCH whose founders named LIBERTY CHURCH. -name was official'ly change to LIBERTY HILL BAPTIST CHURCH in 1956 when it became incorporated according-to the records at the Government Center. PERMANENT CHURCH BUILDING. The first permanent Church building was built in 1875. It was a white wood structure which included a hall built to the side that served as the school, this was the first school in the area. It also had an upstairs room the Inter— national Benevolent Society held its meeting up there. The name of some of the pupils that attended this school was:
QUINTON BRYANT
BISHOP BRYANT (DECEASED)
LILLIE BIDDELL BODDIE
NATHAN DAVIS JR. INEZ JACKSON KING EVERLENA COTTON MITCHELL
MILDRED JACKSON STEVENS
ROSA WILLIS
