Our History

On the fourth Saturday in September 1873, 24 members of the Salem Church formed the Birchwood Baptist Church.

During the very early years of the church there was no Sunday School organization. When Mr. F.N. Sanders came to join the church, he encouraged starting Sunday School. Sunday School classes first met in different corners of the building. Several years later, the side S.S. rooms were added. Sometime later than that, the two rooms and furnace rooms were added.

Originally the church was heated by 2 pot bellied wood stoves. That was a time when people liked to sit near the front. When the furnace was added, even more heat was the result.

Every summer the church had a revival usually lasting one or two weeks. One revival was held in a tent set up in the church yard.

While Rev. J.N. Monroe was pastor, his brother-in-law Arthur Fox, conducted a revival. There were more than 100 conversions or rededication during that revival.

Baptisims were held in different locations. The river at Blythe's Ferry, or at Mr. Herman Roark's place and also at the Harrison Roark place.

During revivals, mothers would sometimes bring a quilt for a child to sleep on. (No nursery for many years) There is one story of a family that had walked quite a distance towards home when they realized one of the children was still asleep at church.

Betty Roark remembers one time that there was a Junior Choir and a Senior Choir--one sat on the left of the platform and the other on the right.

During the early years it was customary for women and small children to sit on the left side of the auditorium and the men sat on the right.