Jones County
History & Heritage, Inc
History & Heritage, Inc
Mt Springs Primitive Baptist Church
Mt. Springs Primitive Baptist Church was constituted on May 24, 1838, at this location upon land that had been previously owned by Bryant Balkcom, son of Ichabod Balkcom. A log building with a stick and dirt chimney and crude benches served the congregation from 1838-1864. The building served as a hospital for Federal wounded, following the battle of Griswoldville, after which it was burned. Charter members of the church were Ichabod Balkcom Jr., Nancy Balkcom, Daniel Duncan, Hinton Duncan, Lucinda Duncan and John Balkcom. Elders of the early church were Adam Jones, Absalom Black and Lumpkin Vandiver, with Vandiver being the first Paster. Seventeen members joined the first year including a black woman named Eliza, six additional black members joined prior to 1867.
A second building, a framed structure, was built and served until 1895 when a new framed church was built and dedicated the same year. The site remained a prominent place of worship until February 1955 when the church was again destroyed by fire. The church relocated to an existing building on Ga.Hwy 57 and remained there until it officially closed in 2001.
All that remains today is the church cemetery where many of the members were buried over the years. The Balkcom Family Cemetery sits across the roadway on the rise.
Marker placed by Jones County History and Heritage.
2019
A second building, a framed structure, was built and served until 1895 when a new framed church was built and dedicated the same year. The site remained a prominent place of worship until February 1955 when the church was again destroyed by fire. The church relocated to an existing building on Ga.Hwy 57 and remained there until it officially closed in 2001.
All that remains today is the church cemetery where many of the members were buried over the years. The Balkcom Family Cemetery sits across the roadway on the rise.
Marker placed by Jones County History and Heritage.
2019
