The Meherrin Baptist Church was founded in 1865 and has been serving the local community ever since.
In 1865 the South emerged from the crucible of civil war, devastated and desolate. Plantations lay fallow, the horses and mules needed for cultivation, needed more by the army; solitary chimneys silhouetted against the sky marked home sites turned into battlefields. It was a time of mourning - for the death of a way of life, for gallant young men who had spoken so bravely of the future, but for whom there was no future.
It was also a time of beginning, not of rebuilding what once was but of building a new way of life from the ashes of old. While war had destroyed much of their resources, it had not killed their spirit. It is not surprising then that the creation of new churches was an early part of this new foundation. Baptists in the area were members of churches located some distance from their homes. On October 25, 1865, fourteen men and women met at Meherrin School House on the Double Bridge Road to constitute a church in their neighborhood. This congregation was named Meherrin Baptist, with the Rev. E. S. Taylor serving as the first pastor.
They continued to meet at the school house until August 1869 when they moved to the present location, on one and one-half acres given by James A. and Agnes Arvin Shackleton, Mr. R. L. Bruce was chosen Clerk, a position he held from 1865 to 1887. He also served as superintendent when a Sunday School was organized in April of 1867, with Ms. Dora Overton as librarian.
Minutes of this congregation show that it was a lively and active church, drawing members from the nearby village and surrounding farms. The Reconstruction years were difficult and raising enough money for current expenses was a continuing problem. Despite this, the church thrived and other programs were started, such as the Missionary Society, begun in August 1894.
One of the church's pressing needs from the beginning had been a home for the minister. In 1897, the congregation accepted a lot adjoining the church property given by A. M. Bruce, and declined an offer of land by E. H. Owen in the village of Meherrin. The parsonage was built here and was ready for occupancy by March 1900.
New pews for the sanctuary were installed in 1897 and weatherboarding for the exterior in 1900. As the Twentieth Century began, the members built a stable in 1901 on the parsonage lot, to house the horse and buggy they furnished their minister, in addition to his annual salary of $100.
In 1919 it was reported that the Rev. C. E. Edwards was called to the field composed of Tussekiah, Meherrin, Union Grove, and a mission at Green Bay. It was also about this time that a vestibule and steeple were added to the front of the church and two classrooms on the back. In 1938 the vestibule was divided into two additional classrooms with the entrance between them. At about this time electric lights were installed in the church.
A Sunday School wing and small kitchen was added in 1969 and new pews and carpet were installed in 1970. In 1974-1975 a new modern brick parsonage was built, in 1977 a concrete, covered porch, and steps were added to the front, and in 1985 the old parsonage was sold and moved to a nearby location and a large fellowship building was built over the foundation of that building.
Never a large congregation, because of the number of churches in the area and the exodus of the youth and young families, the Meherrin Baptist Church has never wavered from the founders' intent: to spread the Good News of the Gospel to all people, both by exhortation from the pulpit and through the ministry of its members. For 130 years this church has been a vital force in the community which it serves, touching many lives in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Founding members as listed in original entry:
Members ordained to the ministry:
Roster of Ministers:
The preceding was taken from Memories of Meherrin, pps 15-17. Compiled by Ruby Elliott Redmond and Virginia Price Waller. Published by Edmonds Printing/Color Images, Inc. Lawrenceville, Virginia. Roster of Ministers maintained by Karl W. Schaefer.
© 1998 Ruby Elliott Redmond, Virginia Price Waller.