Churches observe 150 years
Two local places of worship have withstood the test of time and celebrated their 150-year anniversary in October – The Grove Baptist Church and Cistern Hill Missionary Baptist Church.
Both churches have unique histories and are typically filled on Sunday mornings with a group of devoted worshippers dedicated to spreading God’s word.
The Grove Baptist Church
The Grove Baptist Church, located in Poagville, was initially chartered as Hickory Grove Baptist 150 years ago in 1870 and become known as The Grove Baptist Church in 2016.
Hickory Grove Baptist Church officially merged with Wyatte Baptist Church for two years after 12 missionaries were sent from WBC to recast a vision of ministry, re-energize a passion for the community, refurbish facilities and fan the flames of revival with hopes of re-constituting “The Grove” as a self-sustaining church by the year 2018.
However, God had bigger plans. The Grove Baptist Church was re-constituted sooner than expected on Aug. 16, 2017.
Early records, prior to 1869, indicate the beginning of Hickory Grove Baptist Church was on John Crawford Sr.’s property, which is now known as 755 Crawford Road. The building was approximately 30 feet x 50 feet with a sanctuary in the center and Sunday school rooms on the side. The balcony was across the east end where African Americans in the community sat until Mr. Crawford gave them land for their own building.
According to printed history, the church on Crawford Road was clapboard siding nailed with square nails, similar to horseshoe nails of today. The floor joists and sleepers were made of logs held together with round wooden pegs.
A special meeting was called in 1869 to name the church. Mrs. John R. Crawford Sr. suggested Hickory Grove Baptist Church. It was accepted by vote and the church earned its charter in 1870.
The church elected a committee on Oct. 21, 1917, to determine if repairs or the development of a new building were feasible. On Dec. 2, 1917, the committee recommended construction of a 35 feet x 50 feet concrete block building. The project was delayed on several occasions due the threat of World War I.
Near the end of the war, the school was relocated at what is today known as Poagville and many members wanted to move the church close to the school. On Jan. 20, 1920, J.A. Renfro and wife Nelia; James Powell and wife Effie and her father W. A. Harris; and J.W. and Flora Farmer each donated half acre of land to the church. Services were held in the new building with B. F. Whitten as pastor on Oct. 17, 1920.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held for a new building in Nov. of 1951. The Jones Bowden Company of Memphis donated blocks for the building and Calloway, C.B., Luther and Norman Smith donated their services as bricklayers. The first service was held in this new building on Aug. 5, 1952.
In 1980, Hickory Grove had 54 baptisms with 280 resident members and 67 non-resident members. Plans were made to build a new auditorium, which was completed and ready for use in June of 1981. A dedication service was held a month later.
The current pastor at The Grove Baptist Church is Chad Roberson.
Cistern Hill Missionary Baptist Church
Information provided by Ernestine Lomax Bridgeforth
In 1870, the same year Congress readmitted Mississippi to the Union after it seceded for nine years to join the Confederacy leading up to the Civil War, Cistern Hill Missionary Baptist Church was established.
The church was settled about 1.5 miles east of where the present facility stands today on Highway 310 East. The first church was a “bush arbor” or “brush harbor.” These types of structures were first built in uncultivated areas as temporary residences and religious communities.
Dr. Wool Small and Dr. Michael Van were the original founders of Cistern Hill Missionary Baptist Church. There was once a cemetery at the site, but it’s no longer there. Many believe the headstones are piled in thickets nearby and graves are plowed over.
“There is still a pool in the area,” said Ernestine Lomax Bridgeforth. “The late deacon Early Boyce told of times that he and the late deacon Alex Lewers would sometimes after Sunday school walk to the area. The late Arilla Kerney stated that she and her friends often fished from the pool. I remember the cemetery because my sisters, the late Arilla Lomax Bingham, Olivet Lomax Montgomery and I picked berries and plums from that area. My mother made jam and jelly from the plums and berries.”
The original church, or bush arbor, was destroyed by fire and moved to its present site on land donated by Hugh McGhee. The church was described as a big, windy building, once white washed and behind it were a field of weeds and graves. This information came from The Pavilion, a book written by Stark Young, nephew of Hugh McGhee, who lived in Como.
The second church building was destroyed in a windstorm and was replaced as a brick structure. According to the church records, members hauled bricks and other building material on mule-drawn wagons. Each family paid $100.00 to help rebuild the church in 1929. It was paid out of debt in 1934.
Since 1929, many updates and additions have occurred. In 1965, the church’s sanctuary was remodeled and bathrooms were added in 1973. In 1977, the sanctuary was enlarged as well as the choir stand, fellowship hall and pastor’s study. A baptism pool was installed in 1985.
Cistern Hill Missionary Baptist Church was again destroyed by fire on Aug. 9, 1994. Many suspect the fire was set intentionally. There were signs flammable liquid was thrown on the building and set on fire. A container was found in the driveway that may have been used to carry the liquid.
A new large and more modern church was opened for service on April 24, 1995.
The sanctuary was designed to comfortably seat 400 worshippers. It contains a balcony, large choir stand, fellowship hall, pastor’s study, finance room, classrooms and other necessary space.
The building contractor for this church was deacon emeritus Elbert “Big Daddy”Lewers.
In 1998, a porch was added and the parking lot was paved. The Orr family, descendants of the family that donated land for the first church in 1870, blessed the church by donating and additional acres of land in 2014. Cistern Hill Missionary Baptist Church’s congregation is made up of sixth and seventh generations of families who have attended services there.
Cistern Hill Missionary Baptist Church served as the distribution center for a mobile food pantry. Every two months, food was passed out to 400 to 600 households. Now, the Panola County Sheriff’s Department and the Panola County Emergency Management Agency regularly use the church’s parking lot to distribute boxes of food.
Rev. Cedric L. Richardson, the current Superintendent of North Panola schools, has served as pastor at Cistern Hill Missionary Baptist Church for the last 22 years.
