Tag Archives: Churches of Ben Hill County GA
Zion Rest Primitive Baptist Church, Circa 1910, Fitzgerald
Filed under --BEN HILL COUNTY GA--, Fitzgerald GA
West Side Church of God, Westwood
This is one of two abandoned churches in Westwood.
Filed under --BEN HILL COUNTY GA--, Fitzgerald GA, Westwood GA
West Point Missionary Baptist Church, Westwood
West Point Baptist Church is an historic African-American congregation in the Westwood community of Fitzgerald. Westwood was populated by skilled African-American machinists, most of whom worked in the nearby Atlantic Coast Line Railroad shops. It’s interesting that the establishment of the church predates the settlement of Fitzgerald and the location of the railroad by nearly 20 years. The present structure was built in 1972.
The church, which is the center of the Westwood community today, recently lost its well-loved and long serving pastor, Reverend Willie B. Pride (1938-2020).
Filed under --BEN HILL COUNTY GA--, Fitzgerald GA, Westwood GA
Vernacular African-American Church, Fitzgerald
I will update with an identification as soon as I can track down some history of this structure, which is among the oldest wooden churches in Fitzgerald.
Filed under --BEN HILL COUNTY GA--, Fitzgerald GA
Bethel A. M. E. Church, Fitzgerald
Bethel is one of the oldest African-American congregations in Fitzgerald.
Filed under --BEN HILL COUNTY GA--, Fitzgerald GA
St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, 1908, Fitzgerald
St. Matthew’s was built using granitoid blocks from the Fitzgerald Granitoid Works.
Filed under --BEN HILL COUNTY GA--, Fitzgerald GA
Abandoned Church, Ben Hill County
The architecture leads me to believe this was a church, though it could have been a schoolhouse.
Filed under --BEN HILL COUNTY GA--
Tornado Damage at Young’s Chapel, Ben Hill County
Young’s Chapel has been one of my favorite places since I first discovered it over ten years ago. I drive out from Fitzgerald nearly every time I’m home just to check on it. Though I have no connections to the church, I’ve always felt at home when I visit. It’s the kind of place that has that effect on many. On one of those recent trips, I was heartbroken when I saw the damage done by a tornado which passed through in January. As if this special little church needed anything else working against it.
Luckily, Matt Brown recently rescued the pews before vandals could steal or destroy them. They were gone before the tornado came through.
Talk of restoration has been ongoing, but in light of the recent damage it will be an even more difficult task, perhaps impossible.
Filed under --BEN HILL COUNTY GA--
Episcopal Vicarage, Fitzgerald
Though I don’t believe it was built for the purpose, this house served for many years as the vicarage of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Fitzgerald.
It was razed in 2018.
Filed under --BEN HILL COUNTY GA--, Fitzgerald GA
Central Christian Church, 1906, Fitzgerald
South Main Street-South Lee Street Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
One of Fitzgerald’s oldest and most beautiful churches, this is now home to the congregation of Faith Baptist.
Filed under --BEN HILL COUNTY GA--, Fitzgerald GA
