Goodspeed’s History
says that the Concord Baptist Church at Norris Creek in Lincoln County was
organized “prior to 1820,” but this is possibly closer to 1810.[i] The
first minute book of the church is not extant and the date of its constitution
is not known. However, “By 1810 a group of Baptists in the village petitioned
the Boiling Fork Primitive Baptist in Franklin Co., TN., to send eldership to
assist in organizing a church.”[ii] Goodspeed’s
History refers to the church as Primitive Baptist, which would be correct at
the time of their writing. However, 1810-1820 this church was simply considered
“Baptist,” the factions not having yet split over missions and church
auxiliaries.
“Concord first belonged to the Richland Creek
Association but was transferred to the Elk River Association in 1831 for
convenience of the messengers, the first being Rev. James D. Cole, Reuben H.
Boone and George Small. By the 1860’s a new building was needed. The land on
which Concord was built belonged to John Cunningham. Alexander Ashby was the
leader in soliciting money to build the Church. For many years Concord had a
large membership and attracted members from miles around. It became the mother
church to Buckeye, which was officially organized in 1872, and to Mt. Hermon,
which was organized about the same time.”
Some ministers who served the Concord Church were:
“Elders Pybus, John Weaver, James D. Cole, Joshua Yates, — Marcum, John Frost,
J. W. Holman, J. J. Short, J. G. Woods, A. J. Willis, R. S. Kirkland, — Woodin,
W. A. Cashion, J. M. Towry, — Stewart, and lastly, Elder W. A. Pinkstaff.”
“Among the church clerks can be found the names of
John Landess, Elias Willson Ashby, W.T. Furgason, William J. Landess and
Charlie L. Stone.”
Concord disbanded and closed its doors in 1935. Writing
in 1986, Ruth Cunningham Morgan said that “The ruins of this old Concord Church
stand today as a reminder of other days and as a monument to a brave and God-fearing
people. Truly it is one of Belleville’s historic landmarks.” The Find-A-Grave
site for the Concord
Cemetery says the “nearby historic church” is “no longer standing.”[iii]
In 1814 Isaac Reed was pastor of the “W. F. N Cr.”
Church, a constituent member of the new Flint River Baptist Association. I was
guessing “W. F. N Cr.” might be “West Fork of Norris Creek” – since there is a
Norris Creek in Lincoln County, Tennessee. The jury is still out on that
verdict.
[i] History of Tennessee, from the Earliest Time
to the Present; Together with an Historical and a Biographical Sketch of Giles,
Lincoln, Franklin and Moore Counties, Nashville, TN: Goodspeed
Publishing Company, 1886, p. 783.
[ii] Quoted
from an article written by Ruth Cunningham Morgan, “Belleville Saga,” Homecoming 86. Reference is in the Boiling
Fork Baptist Church minute book. “May the fourth [Fryday] 1810…2. A petition from the bretheran in Lincoln county on Norris Creeke for the Eldership of this church and granted.” (Minutes, p. 34) “Fryday” is hard to read and may be something else. If this church on Norris Creek is the same as Concord, then Concord must have been organized in 1810. Most of the information in quotation marks in the above post comes from “Lincoln
County, TN Area Churches.”
[iii] Find-A-Grave, accessed 14
January 2020 2:10 pm.
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