Mt. Carmel Baptist Church

Front: Organized in 1870 by freed slaves, this Baptist congregation is said to have first met in a brush arbor before temporarily worshipping in the balcony of nearby Buckhead Baptist Church, the later disbanded congregation of their former owners. In 1871, six founding trustees acquired a 1-ac. lot at this site “to be used for the erection of a Church building.” Reverse: The first pastor of Mount Carmel Baptist Church was Rev. Joseph Michael (1837-1896), a farmer like many early members, who served until his death. For a century, the church performed baptisms in the creek 500 ft. NE, rights to which were granted them in the original deed. A cornerstone was laid in 1926. The church was brick-veneered in the mid-1970s.