According to the Messenger-Intelligencer (Wadesboro N.C.) issue of Thursday, Oct. 16, 1888 Page 3, Polkton Baptist Church was originally known as Piney Grove Baptist Church. The old church was in its prime in the 1850s and 1860s whereas the church membership was into the hundreds. The Rev. Edmund Davis was one of the first pastors of this church and was in the prime of life — and yet while he had hardly any education, he was a man of great spiritual power and personal magnetism.

At those great revival meetings of long ago, Davis would jump over the pulpit to get closer to his congregation. He seemed to be born to influence a crowd. He had always been one of the most fascinating Baptist ministers regarding his energetic delivery of a Sunday morning sermon or an evening revival church service. He had baptized more people than any other minister in the state of North Carolina

What if Davis had been an educated man? They believed that God called him just as he was — a rough diamond — an ordinary man preaching in the wilderness, filled with the spirit of God. It was always the plan of the era to pursue educated ministers of the gospel.

The old Piney Grove Church has disappeared from Baptist history and Polkton Baptist Church has taken its place. It stands on the same lot as a beautiful grove of four acres, donated years ago by John Williams of blessed memory to the Baptist cause because there were no other Baptist churches nearby. The ministers in those days in the 1890s and early 1900s were the Rev. J.K. Fant, the Rev. C. H. Martin, the Rev. G.O. Wilhoit and the Rev. Tom Wright.

According to the book “Heritage of Anson County N.C.” — created by the Anson County Heritage Book Committee which was published in 1995 — Polkton Baptist Church was organized on Aug. 19, 1853 and was first named Piney Grove Baptist Church. The eight charter members were Thomas Polk, James Moore, John Boyd, Sampson Caudle, Benjamin Ponds, Mary Boyd, Lucretia Ponds and Eliza Grace. In the 1870s, the membership increased so much that the elders of the church decided to build a new church — building on the present site — and by 1877, a Sunday School Missionary Society was organized.

In the church minutes of Sept. of 1886, there is recorded a vivid description of the Charleston earthquake, which states that on Tuesday evening during a revival meeting, the Rev. N. B. Cobb delivered a sermon with much spiritual power, the church service ended and the members and visitors went home and suddenly the earth begin to tremble whereas houses rocked, windows rattled and people began screaming and kneeling asking for God’s mercy. They thought that the end of time had come. The following Sunday, 12 people professed religion and were baptized.

Former pastors of Polkton Baptist Church were A.E. Bennett, E. L. Davis, J.E. King, N.B. Cobb, J.L. Bennett, W.B. Harrell, W.G. Rollings, G.O. Wilhoit, S.P. Morton, J. Bivens, J.P. Boyd, J.W. Little, C.H. Martin, A.B. Caudle, C.J. Black, B.M. Hobbs, J.B. Shinn, G.H. Church, H. Morton, W.K. Hogan, J.W. Nobles, M.D. Preslar, J.R. Pentuff, Ray Little, J.C. Meigs, Clayton Pope, C. Richard Roberts, John Beukema, Belvin Cox, E.M. Chilton, Steve Mabry, Rex Burleson and Tony Cowick.

Keep in mind that this church history was contributed in 1994 or early 1995 to the Anson County Heritage Book Committee.

Steve Bailey

Contributing Columnist