First Baptist Church in Georgia

Kiokee Church, the first Baptist Church to be constituted in Georgia, was organized in the Spring of 1772, by the Rev. Daniel Marshall, one of the founders of the Baptist denomination in Georgia. A meeting house was built, and the Rev. Daniel Marshall became the first pastor, ministering from his headquarters at Kiokee to an ever increasing number of Baptists in the area. In October, 1784, the preliminary meeting for the organization of a Georgia Baptist Association was held at Kiokee Church. The Rev. Daniel Marshall died November 1, 1784, and some time later the church was moved to Appling and a new brick edifice erected. Kiokee Baptist Church was incorporated December 23, 1789, as "The Anabaptist Church on Kiokee", with Abram Marshall, William Willingham, Edmund Cartledge, John Landers, James Simms, Joseph Ray and Lewis Gardener as Trustees.