Fellowship and Faith: Local church to celebrate its bicentennial celebration on June 4
MITCHELL — They came from the Carolinas. The Tyrees, Burtons, Tollivers and Millers.
They were Baptists and settled into an area a few miles west of what is now Spice Valley Township just west of State Road 37 in Mitchell. In 1822 these early settlers to Lawrence County formed a church.
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Elders Abram Mitchell and William Noblett founded the church June 1, 1822, making it one of the oldest churches in the county.
A celebration of the 200-year anniversary will take place June 4 at the church with a day of music, cake and ice cream.
Marlene Allen, whose husband Roger serves as pastor, has been helping with the 200th anniversary.
"I am a history lover and over the last two years, I've enjoyed looking into the history of the church," she said. "We've asked members to bring in old pictures and we have a couple of members who are 60- and 70-year members."
Allen said up until 1815, white men had not settled in this part of the state, making the settlers in Spice Valley among the earliest. The church and its elders were leaders and Allen said during the first 60 years of the church's existence, its leaders were integral in helping other churches get established.
"Christianity and people who wanted religious freedom is what settled America," Allen said.
Keeping a country church going for 200 years is no small feat as small communities that, at one time, were centered around their churches and schools, dispersed to more densely populated cities and towns.
"If you had a church and school, you had a community," Allen said. "That was their gathering place, their entertainment. That's where everything happened."
Rita Brown grew up attending Spice Valley Baptist Church; it has been her church home about 60 years. She was born just up the hill from the church, close enough to hear the church bell ring, and her grandparents on her father's side attended there most of their lives.
She can remember huge crowds at the church during revivals.
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"The church was so full, we'd put chairs in the aisle," she said.
She and her husband Denzil raised their two children in the church.
"It's home. It has been a part of my life, all my life," she said. "It's my heritage and the people I love have gone there."
She no longer lives up the hill, but she still attends regularly and is looking forward to the church's bicentennial.
"It's a remarkable thing. When we had our 175th anniversary I remember thinking maybe i can live to see the 200th," Brown said. "When you think back to the church as it was in the beginning, this was six years after Indiana became a state. It's an awesome thing to think that this church has been there ever since."
Alverta Hart began attending the church in 1959 when she was dating Edgar Conley, whom she would later marry.
Her husband was one of 10 children and the entire family attended there.
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From the beginning, she said the church always felt like a family.
In 1980 when her husband died unexpectedly on Easter Sunday, the church supported her as she and her two children coped with the loss.
In more than 60 years of attending, Hart said the church has never lost that feeling.
"It's a little family church where everybody loves one another," she said.
Church history
In 1822, the church met in William Maxwell’s mill shed during the summer months and in houses during the winter for the first seven months of its existence.
A small log cabin church was built to serve the settlers and in 1837 a new church was built across the street from the original. Fire destroyed that church in 1887. A new church, built of brick, was constructed and still stands today, although you wouldn't know it as additions and improvements have covered up the original exterior.
The original limestone mantel placed above the entry in 1887 is still in the foyer
A church bell installed in 1903 still rings every Sunday to announce the start of services.
Allen remarked that the result is a church with great acoustics.
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"You almost don't need a microphone," she said.
Today the church, cloaked in white siding, still stands at the corner of Clark Smith and Porter Burton roads. It's an older, smaller congregation that it used to be. Membership is about 40 people and Allen said not that long ago the church had between 100 and 150 people attending.
No church is immune to dissension, especially one that's been around for 200 years. Allen said many in the church were divided politically over the nation's Civil War. Church records show there was dissent about building onto the church and the ensuing costs.
Allen looks upon those times as evidence that the same pioneering spirit that founded the church remains.
The Allens have been serving the church for seven years.
"To be tucked away in a little valley all by its lonesome … it's a testament to the members who are still there and the ones who were there before holding the church together. It's the dedication of those members to continue on and make sure it continues on is why this church is still here," she said.
Spice Valley Baptist bicentennial
When: Noon to 6 p.m. June 4
Where: Spice Valley Baptist Church, corner of Clark Smith and Porter Burton roads in Mitchell. From Bedford, take SR 37 and turn right before Hancock Construction; the church is 3 miles off 37.
Details: A meal served at 1 p.m. Music in the afternoon by Mark Vice, Bluegrass Express, Cari Pfaff and Monte Tirey. Cake and ice cream at 4 p.m. A photographer will be taking photos.
Contact Times-Mail Staff Writer Carol Johnson at cjohnson@tmnews.com or 812-277-7252.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Mail: Spice Valley Baptist Church to celebrate 200 years
