Ackerville Baptist Church of Christ is presently in severe disrepair due to a large tree that fell into the structure in the fall of 2020. Portions of the roof are no longer present, and the rear wall has collapsed. The structure is mostly open to the elements, the flooring continues to deteriorate, and the rear wall and several windows require extensive repairs to encapsulate the building from the elements. The Wilcox County Historical Commission is currently working to secure funds to remove the tree from inside the church.
The Ackerville Baptist Church of Christ congregation joined the Bethlehem Association of Baptist Churches in 1844 with twenty-eight members. Membership had risen to seventy-nine by 1847, and in 1848, the church completed construction of a church in Oak Hill. The nearby community of Ackerville experienced greater growth after the Civil War and the congregation decided to relocate. In 1866, the church was taken apart piece by piece and reassembled in its current location. The years between 1850 and 1894 were fruitful ones for the church, with membership rising to 103, but by 1920, membership had begun to decline. In 1943, membership had dropped to sixteen, and the church ceased regular meetings. Ackerville Baptist Church of Christ was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on April 18, 2003, for its distinctive characteristics of Greek Revival architecture with vernacular influences. The church includes a simple rectangular block style with no projections, a symmetrical plan, smooth wall surfaces without ornamentation, a roof ridge running from front to back, front doors with rectangular transoms, and a full façade temple-form portico with simplified square Doric columns in the front. Methods of construction typical of the period and style are exhibited in the building.
Ackerville Baptist Church of Christ is presently in severe disrepair due to a large tree that fell into the structure in the fall of 2020. Portions of the roof are no longer present, and the rear wall has collapsed. The structure is mostly open to the elements, the flooring continues to deteriorate, and the rear wall and several windows require extensive repairs to encapsulate the building from the elements. The Wilcox County Historical Commission is currently working to secure funds to remove the tree from inside the church.
1 Comment
Katherine M Latham
3/21/2023 10:29:42 am
My grandmother was born in Pine Apple. Her name is Eustacia Stuart Render. Members of her extended Stuart family are buried in the cemetery by the church.
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