Past meets present at Millstone Baptist Church
The Rev. David Burt, who has led Millstone Baptist Church since 1989, holds a photo of the church and its congregation circa 1900. The church is the oldest in Oglethorpe County, with a constitution that dates to January 1788.
Story originally published in The Oglethorpe Echo.
Millstone Baptist Church is tucked away in a thick grove of trees, on top of a grassy hill and down a gravel road.
It may seem off the beaten path, but countless people have made their way through its doors the past three centuries, and many still do every Sunday.
The pews inside have been there for more than 100 years, but the walls surrounding them have stood even longer; the current building was constructed in 1890. The church was constituted in January 1788, making Millstone Baptist the oldest church in Oglethorpe County.
“For over 200 years, people have been standing here, on these grounds, right where we’re talking,” current pastor David Burt said. “People have gone through multiple wars, gone through all sorts of things, and we’re still here — how about that?”
It was founded by the Revs. Silas Mercer and Jeremiah Walker, with a membership of just 14 people. The congregation grew over the next century, peaking at 304 in the 1870s.
Around this time, Millstone Baptist became the setting for many great revivals. One particular effort by the Rev. John G. Gibson resulted in the baptism of 60 people.
Burt and his wife Margie, the church’s pianist, are conscious of its extraordinarily long history.
“It’s a legacy that (we) want to continue,” she said. “It’s been here so long, and we sure don’t want it to go down on our watch.”
Roughly 30 people worship at Millstone Baptist each week, attracted to the traditional worship style.
“We try to maintain the old atmosphere; we’re old school,” David Burt said. “Old hymns, old-fashioned preaching — I still wear a suit and tie every Sunday morning.”
The site of the original baptismal pool at Millstone Baptist Church is still visible near the spring that used to supply the church with water. In the late 1800s, the Rev. John G. Gibson baptized 60 people there during one revival.
Burt approaches his work within the church and the church itself with the same reverence for the past.
He can show you where the wood heater used to extend to the ceiling, point out how the wood grain on the pulpit is actually painted on and lead you to the old baptismal pool down the hill, in the process of being reclaimed by nature.
Burt has of course witnessed a portion of this history during his 34 years as pastor, but he also has the work of local historians to thank for his knowledge.
A marker outside Millstone Baptist Church commemorates the Millstone Creek community homesteaders, including famed explorer Meriwether Lewis, who spent part of his childhood there. The monument was moved to the churchyard from its original location due to issues with vandalism.
A marker in the churchyard notes that the Millstone Creek Community was a boyhood home of Meriwether Lewis, who, along with William Clark, explored the Louisiana Purchase from 1804-06.
The Rev. Jack K. McVeigh of Falling Creek Baptist Church wrote a book titled “Millstone Church and The Broad River Valley” “to instill in each heart a love for the heritage of this church, an appreciation for the early leaders of this church, and a knowledge of the times in which they lived.”
McVeigh, 96, died at his home on Millstone Church Road on Jan. 18.
His detailed report of Millstone Baptist Church’s leaders, congregants and relationship with the community illuminates centuries of church proceedings and shows the importance of connecting with local history.
“I am glad I am a historical person. I feel like I can live in the past; I can live in the present; and I can live in the future,” he wrote. “In poring through the old records of this church, I feel like I know these people personally, and I feel as if I lived in their day.”