Baptistery Found at Mt. Gilead | | Bro. Randy Stokes baptizing new member Ramona Herring in 2003 |
FORT GAINES — It was a place that had been lost and forgotten for ages, but not forever, because faith does more cleansing than a shaded pool of water. A skinny paved road slithers and twists for miles and miles among grassy mounds dotted by gray cattle. Thickets of pine trees stand straight and tall as telephone poles. And here, in northern Clay County, under a thick canopy of shade, on a serene, scenic spot of slight hill sits Mount Gilead Baptist Church. Mount Gilead is the oldest church in Clay County, according to church historian Pam Monfort. Constituted on the third Sunday in July 1822. It is 62 years older than Clay County which was created in February 1884. The old sanctuary and later a schoolhouse were located across the road from the present church building. On Tuesday, May 28, 2002, Mt. Gilead Baptist Church in Ft. Gaines, GA held a baptism service in the recently found baptismal pool there. The baptismal pool was found during a clean up of the grounds in 2002. It is located across the road from the current church location on Cotton Hill Road. The old school house was located close to where the pool is before being torn down years ago. After it was dug out and cleaned around, the pool was found in very good condition with an inscribed built date of 1828 on the top side. The approximate dimensions are 10 ft. L x 5 ft. W x 4 ft. deep with 4 steps leading down. It was used for the first time in decades for baptizing seven members in May 2002. According to The Bethel Baptist Association, it is the oldest baptismal pool in the state of Georgia with Mt. Gilead being the oldest church in the association. Mt. Gilead was formed in 1822. The baptistery was used for the first time this year in many decades for baptizing seven Mt. Gilead members. Those members are: Margaret Lindsey, Tom & Dianne Hornek, Hugh & Joyce Sellers, Carmen Wetherby & Phil Monfort. We feel blessed to have found it and to have put it back in service after so many years. |
