These two church histories appear in Volume II of the History of Dade County, Georgia, which was published by the Dade County Historical Society in 2011. Some of the articles were written much earlier. Mrs. Minnie Street was a teacher in Dade County for many years. She was my first-grade teacher, the person who taught me to read.--Linda Wilson
Rising Fawn Church of Christ
(Submitted by Minnie Street)
In the spring of 1962 a small group of Christians decided to meet in the community building in Deer Head Cove. They contacted Sam Owens, the minister of the Trenton congregation, and asked him to preach for them. He agreed, and they met on Sunday evenings. Some of the younger men from Trenton helped out by leading the song services, et cerera. But the building in Deer Head Cove was not suitable for cold weather, so services had to be discontinued in the winter.
Later, Bible study and worship services were held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. G.V. Green Sr. They had a huge den with a large fireplace, so services could be held throughout the year. Members of the congregation at this time included Mr. and Mrs. Green, Mrs. Pauline Allie, Mrs. Treva McCarty, Mrs. Clara Franklin, Mrs. Minnie Street [your narrator], Mr. Tom Holder, Mrs. Electa Wilson, Miss Mary Lee Davis, Miss Lillie Mae Davis and Mrs. Midge Fischer.
Since the congregation was growing, plans were made to build a building. The group continued to meet at the Greens’ home until the present building was completed in 1967. This building contained a large auditorium, three classrooms, a baptistry, a nursery and restrooms. In 1982, an addition was made to the building. It consisted of a fellowship hall with kitchen downstairs and five classrooms upstairs.
Some of the past ministers of this congregation include Bill Laird, Stanley Baker, Roger Davis, Milton Parker, Roy Clark, Jeff Johnson, Dean Roach and Alan Brown. At the present time there are 42 members of the church meeting at Rising Fawn. That number is expected to increase after a minister’s house is built in the spring of 1997 and a full-time minister is hired to work with the church.
(More recently, the Rising Fawn Church of Christ was destroyed by a fire as a result of an explosion. The congregation made the decision to purchase a store building next to the post office in Rising Fawn and have converted it into a church building.
--Linda Wilson)
Magby Gap Church of Christ
(Submitted by David E. Barker)
The congregation had many temporary homes in the early 1930s. They met first in the home of Millie Daniel; for a short time at the Brown’s Gap church building; and then in a small justice-of-the-peace courthouse on the corner of Highways 301 and 136.
In 1943, a deed was made by A. E. Foster to the trustees of the Church of Christ in Trenton, I.H. Wheeler Jr. and Joe Mayhew. The two ministers had been entrusted with the funds of the church and now returned the money for a permanent building. The deed stated that the church would use only what is ordered in the New Testament, rejecting devices and inventions of men such as musical instruments. The building was constructed mainly by the efforts of Lyman Daniel, the Fosters and Ed Crownover.
The first seats were of boards and a coal stove was used to heat the building. The bread for the Lord’s Supper was made at home and one cup was used for the fruit of the vine.
Early ministers came to us from many places. Brother Smith came from Hog Jaw Valley, Brother Henderson from Glendale, and others from nearby communities. These included: I. H. Wheeler, Joe Mayhew, Emitt Gold, O’Dell Denton, James Watkins, Roy Clark and Donald Moreland.
In the mid-forties, the building was used temporarily for two elementary classes when the Davis School burned. Since Ruby Kilgore (Carter) and Beatrice Cloud (Freeman) attended here, they were assigned to teach in the Magby Gap Church building.
Extra classrooms were built after acquiring more land in 1952. Some members responsible for the addition of classrooms, restrooms and baptistery were the Lyman Daniel family, the George Lawson family, Aaron Long and ministers Gold and Wheeler.
In 1972, four acres of land was purchased for future growth.
In the spring of 1981, work began toward a new building and we were worshiping in the new facility in time for homecoming in November. Plans for a full-time minister were realized in August 1981 when C. G. Griffith became the minister.
David Nelson became our new minister in the summer of 1983. In January 1984, plans for new classrooms and a fellowship hall were discussed. Work began and the addition was completed in 1987. A Bible class at the county jail was started. A devotional was started at the nursing home one Sunday afternoon each month and also every Thursday morning.
A celebration was held in 1988 when we became financially self-supporting. Emitt Gold became the minister in 1990 and in December of 1993, David Barker (your narrator) began working with our congregation. May God richly bless our continuing efforts. The church address is 3337 Hwy 301, Trenton, GA 30752.
--Linda Wilson
lanew@tvn.net
