History of the Christian Church in Tennessee

History of the Christian Church in Tennessee

From History of Tennessee From the Earliest Time to The Present
Goodspeed Publishing Co.
Nashville, TN
1887

Retyped for the page by Diane Payne & Danene Vincent, 1998.



The formation of other Christian Churches in Tennessee followed with great rapidity during two decades from 1830 to 1850. Following is a partial list of these churches, with the dates of their organization, so far as could be ascertained and the counties as early as 1816, though probably as Baptist Churches.

1823, the church at Bethlehem, and at Wilson's Hill, Globe Creek, Marshall County. Liberty Church, Marshall County, separated from the Richland Association of United Baptists for communing with Christians and assisting to set apart a deacon in that church. At that time it had 126 members; in 1846 it had 450.

1825, Roane Creek Church, in Carroll County was organized.

1828, Berea Church, in Marshall County, was organized

1831, Smyrna Church, Cedar Creek, in Marshall County, and New Herman Church in Bedford County.

In June 1832, the church at Rutland's Meeting-house, in Wilson County, separated from the Baptists by laying aside their abstract principles and agreeing to be governed by the Bible alone, and the church at Tally's old field was organized this year.

1833, the church at Paris, Henry County, was organized, and in 1844 they built a very neat church edifice.

March 30, 1834, Sylvan Church, Sumner County, was organized with nine members; in 1844, it had 115; the church at Brawley's Fork, Cannon County, and that at South Harpeth, Davidson County, were organized this year.

1835, Rock Springs Church, Rutherford County, and Sycamore Church, Davidson County were organized, the former having, in 1844, 130 members.

1835, the church at Bagdad, Smith County, was organized.

1836, Lebanon Church was organized with nineteen members, and reorganized in 1842.

1838, Lewisburgh Church, in Marshall County was organized.

1839, Big Spring Church, in Wilson County, was organized.

1840, Trace Creek Church, Jackson County, and that at Long's Meeting-house, Marshall County.

1841, a church at Blackburn's Fork, and at Cane Creek, Lincoln County, and the Torny Fork Church, Marshall County, were also organized.

1842, Hartsville Church, in Sumner County, Salt Lick Church, in Jackson County, and the church at Meigsville, on the Big Bottom, were organized.

1843, the church at Teal's Meeting-house, Jackson County, Pleasant Hill Church, Buckeye Church, Flynn's Creek, Union Church, Richland Creek, Marshall County, and the Cave Creek Church, Marshall County, were organized.

1844, and that at Murfreesboro reorganized; the church at Rich Meeting-house was organized, and there were in existence, date of organization not known, the following: 3 in Washington County, with 304 members; 4 in Carter County, with 301 members; 2 in Johnson County, with 124 members, and 2 in Sullivan County with 252 members; in Rutherford County, besides Rock Springs Church, the date of the organization of which has been given above, there were the Spring Creek Church with 40 members, Cripple Creek Church with 130 members, and Big Creek Church with 60; in Warren County Hickory Creek and Rockey River Churches; in Wilson County Liberty Church, on Stone River; besides small congregations at Cypress Creek, Blue Water and Bluff Creek; in Livingston County there were 8 churches with 970 members; in McMinn County 4 churches with 150 members.

From 1845 and 1850 churches of this denomination continued to be organized at about the same rate, since which time their numbers do not seem to have increased so rapidly. In 1872 there were in the United States 500,000 Disciples or Christians, of which number Tennessee could not have had over 15,000. Since then, this sect has grown and prospered, especially in the Southern and Western States, but recent statistics as applicable to Tennessee, are not easily obtainable. For about thirty years the Christians had a flourishing college of high grade five miles east of Nashville in Davidson County, named Franklin College which has now ceased, most of the advanced students of the denomination finding Bethany College, in West Virginia, better prepared to meet their wants. Since 1844 a valuable periodical has been published at Nashville under the different names of The Christian Review, Christian Magazine and Gospel Advocate, the latter name having been in use since 1855.



Return to Sumner County Churches Page

Return to Sumner County Main Page