Our History
An Early History of Concord Baptist Church
The first people buried at Concord were Mr. Williams, Mr. Nate William’s wife and Mr. Lockett. Mr. Williams lived at the McCalahan place near Mt. Zion Methodist Church. Mr. Lockett lived near Jossus Plantation. These internments were made in 1835. The next was an Indian. These graves are enclosed in the present North end of the graveyard. In 1841 additional land
was donated to the church. Ann Plamer donated two acres on May 1st of 1841 and Lodwick Matthews donated five acres on August 5th of 1841.”
Reverend Frank Callaway was the first minister. The initial members were Lodwick Matthews, Elija Nix, William Ragsdale, Joseph Blackman, Mr. Baker, Mr. Ellis and Willis Cox were the male members. The wives of the first four were members also.
Concord Baptist Church is one of the oldest Baptist churches in the state of Alabama. The word concord means unity, and for over 190 years the congregation has strived to be united in one purpose: To share the gospel of Jesus Christ and to seek to be more Christ like in our daily walk.
A Legacy of Unity Since 1835
Established on the Alabama Frontier
Concord Baptist was established by some of the earliest pioneers in what is now Lee County, Alabama. Those early families settled on land they had purchased from the Creek Indians.
Reverend W. C. Bledsoe, an early East Alabama minister, shared these details:
“When Alabama was admitted into the Union in 1819, the territory now embraced by Randolph, Chambers, Tallapoosa, Lee, Macon and Russell counties was an almost unbroken wilderness, owned and occupied by the Creek Indians. A few hardy pioneers had settled here and there among the Creek Indians, but it was not until after the Treaty of 1832 that the tide of emigration began to flow into ‘New Alabama’ as this section was then called. Among those who came to find homes and fortunes in the fertile regions west of the Chattahoochee, there were many Baptists. Settlers were occasionally gathered together by traveling preachers from Georgia and ‘Old Alabama’ and from these meetings churches were slowly organized.”
The Organization of Concord Church (1835)
Concord’s earliest official church records were lost but notes from the 1880s shared by an early member, David Poole, are especially interesting. He states:
“Concord Church was organized in September of 1835, under a brush arbor which stood near a little Indian house built by James Marshall the Indian Chief. This wigwam stood a short distance East of where Mr. Bob Dixon’s Ginn house stood and about two or three hundred yards West from where the present church now stands. In the winter of that year a church edifice was commissioned but was not completed until after the close of the war (Second Creek War) in 1836 which was the latter part of the summer. The first church stood about 25 yards North of the present building and was of seasoned logs about 25 by 30 feet square. The present house was built in 1840 and is forty-by-forty feet square but is in an abandoned state of decay though the second roof was placed on it in 1880. The number of people belonging to Concord Church reaches nearly four hundred people.
Reverend Frank Callaway was the first minister. The initial members were Lodwick Matthews, Elija Nix, William Ragsdale, Joseph Blackman, Mr. Baker, Mr. Ellis and Willis Cox were the male members. The wives of the first four were members also. Reverend Frank Callaway the first pastor was followed by Reverend William Ware, Reverend R. Thornton, Jones,
Williams, Jackson, Reese, Carmichael, Slade, Revell; Elkin, Roby; Hill; Hicks; Reese, Lively, they have successionally been pastors of Concord.
Rev. Francis Callaway
Reverend Frank Callaway the first pastor was followed by Reverend William Ware, Reverend R. Thornton, Jones,
Williams, Jackson, Reese, Carmichael, Slade, Revell; Elkin, Roby; Hill; Hicks; Reese, Lively, they have successionally been pastors of Concord.
Timeline of Concord Baptist Church
sEPTEMBER 1835
Concord Church organized under a brush arbor
Summer 1836
First church building completed
September 1838
During the third session of the Liberty (East) Baptist
Association held in Oak Bowery, William Conway and Lodwick Matthews of Concord Baptist presented a letter from the church asking for admission into the association. The request was granted and the church was included in the Third District (Russell County) which included Providence Baptist, Bethesda Baptist, Liberty Baptist and Harmony Baptist.
1840
New 40x40' church building completed
May 1841
Deacons were elected for the first time.
1845
A new Baptist Association was formed in the southern territory of the Liberty East Association. Concord Baptist and twenty other churches withdrew from the Liberty East Association and formed the Tuskegee Association.
1898
A new 40 by 60 foot building was built for worship and education.
1900
Weekly Sunday School began.
1926
W.L. Poole and A. G. Eiland constructed a cement baptismal pool at the spring behind the church.
1928
Construction begins on a new sanctuary.
October 6,1935
Cornerstone of the new sanctuary is ceremonially laid.
1948
Construction begins on a new educational wing and on-site parsonage.
1960
Construction of a two-story educational building and fellowship hall.
May 17,1987
Current sanctuary building is dedicated.
November 4, 2001
Family Life Center is dedicated.
SOURCES:
Bledsoe, W. C., 1847-. History of the Liberty (East) Baptist Association of Alabama. Atlanta, Ga.: Constitution job office, 1886.
Cherry, Francis Lafayette. Papers, 1883-circa 1903. (1883): Alabama Department of Archives and History