Click image to enlarge. Once a vital part of the community, Pleasant Hill Presbyterian Church, like many other country churches of its vintage (c. 1855), has become an abandoned, deteriorating landmark in a rural landscape. Local residents keep the grass cut in the community cemetery to the rear of the sanctuary, but no one monitors the decline of the once prominent structure. The church is owned by the Pleasant Hill Cemetery Association.
Unfortunately, the fate that has befallen Pleasant Hill Presbyterian is all too common. On the backroads of Alabama, countless abandoned churches of every denomination sit vacant. In mo t cases the old er congregations have died off, leaving the property to their districts, synods, or conferences. The circa 1850 Adams Grove Presbyterian Church in Dallas County, privately owned, and the 1859 Uchee Methodist Church in Russell County, owned by the Alabama-West Florida Conference, have met similar fates.
Luckily, there are also examples of abandoned historic churches that are maintained by sister congregations, as is the case with St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Hale County. This 1853 Carpenter Gothic structure, attributed to nationally noted architect Richard Upjohn, is meticulously cared for and maintained by the Episcopal congregation in nearby Demopolis. Homecoming services are held in the sanctuary once a year, and the building is open for interpretive tours.
Luckily, there are also examples of abandoned historic churches that are maintained by sister congregations, as is the case with St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Hale County. This 1853 Carpenter Gothic structure, attributed to nationally noted architect Richard Upjohn, is meticulously cared for and maintained by the Episcopal congregation in nearby Demopolis. Homecoming services are held in the sanctuary once a year, and the building is open for interpretive tours.
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