First Organized and Still Active Church
On the first Saturday of October 1798, William Thompson, Richard Curtis, Jr. and Joseph Willis met with families on Bayou Sara Creek, four miles southwest of Woodville, and organized a church under the arm of Salem Baptist Church known as the Baptist Church of Buffalo.In 1800 the church assumed its independence from the Salem Church and was called Bethel Baptist Church. During the early 1800's the church was inactive for several years.The brick church building, which was built in 1809, is the oldest church building in Mississippi. After the town of Woodville was organized in 1811, the church building was moved to town. The building was condemned in 1896 so the congregation met elsewhere until major renovations were made in 1914.The church prevailed during the nineteenth century: two church trustees served as Governors of Mississippi —- George Poindexter from 1820-1822 and Abram M. Scott, from 1832-1833. Bethel's pastor from 1823-1826, David Cooper was elected as president of the first Mississippi Baptist State Convention in 1824The Civil War left the church unable to secure a preacher for every service of worship. However, on September 14, 1870, the church overcame persistent obstacles, began regular services again, dropped Bethel from its name, and became known as Woodville Baptist Church.| HM Number | tmp-4cd8a |
|---|---|
| Placed By | Mississippi Baptist Historical Commission |
| Marker Condition | No reports yet |
| Date Added | Wednesday, July 19th, 2017 at 5:09pm PDT -07:00 |
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 15R E 676742 N 3503893 |
|---|---|
| Decimal Degrees | 31.65670000, -91.13588333 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 31° 39.402', W 91° 8.153' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 31° 39' 24.12" N, 91° 8' 9.18" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 601 |
| Which side of the road? | Marker is on the right when traveling North |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 4335 US-61, Fayette MS 39069, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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