Date Congregation Founded:
Date Present Church Building Built:
1834
1949 / 1967
County:
Mason
Founding Denomination:
Baptist
USGS Quad:
Beech
Hill
Condition of church building/grounds**:
Excellent
(March 2005)
Coordinates:
38.7867ºN
82.0602ºW
Preservation Outlook:
Currently
in use
Maintained by:
Concord
Baptist Church congregation
Construction:
Stick
frame
Property owner:
Concord
Baptist Church Congregation
Date added to WVCPA register:
May
2006
Data Updated: 07 September 2012
Accessibility:
Very
accessible. Located at Couch, WV south of Henderson just off
on Rt. 35 on the southwest side of the highway
** Condition of church
building and grounds as observed on the given date - may not be
representative of care at other times of the year Scale:
Excellent - Good - Fair - Poor - Abandoned
Click thumbnail photos below to
enlarge
Plaque
mounted on the side of the church building
Concord
Baptist Church was begun in 1821 as a branch of Harmony Baptist
Church. From 1821 to its formal organization in 1834, the
group met in the home of Chap Maupin. On August 10, 1834, 18
persons agreed to organize themselves into the Concord Baptist
Church with William George as their first pastor. The church
became a part of the Teays Valley Baptist Association later in
1834. By 1926 they reported over 100 members, rising to 170
members per 1976¹
According
to church tradition, Charles Day was the first to lay the cut that
felled the first tree to build the original meeting house.
Built in the fashion of what could be called a "church
raising", members and friends cut down trees, some peeled bark,
others notched the timbers, and when all was prepared, raised the
building over the span of little more than a day.
(from
notes on the history of the church recorded by Rev. Lawrence
Dickerson, pastor of Concord from 1889-1903)¹
Pastors who have
served Concord Baptist Church over the centuries - some serving more
than one congregation
simultaneously - dates of service are provided, where known:
William
George 1845-1856
Richard W.
Davis 1861-1879
W.A.Cadle
1883-1884, 1909-1910, & 1917-1919
Charles Davis
Thomas
Davis
J.C.
Richardson
Lawrence
Dickerson 1889-1903
T.J. Rigg
T.H.
Fitzgerald
John
Reubin Reynolds
S.S. Denny
O.F.
Jackson
J.H.
Childers
R.R. Denny
J. Smyth
Dye
A.J. Clere
1928, 1935, & 1938-1939
Brown
McDonald
E.W.
Webster
Clarence
G. Billups 1941
M.M.
Malcom
Warren
Dean
Harry
C. Miller 1957-1965+?
James
H. Neal
Fred
D. McCallister 1969-1972+
To visit the WVCPA
Concord Baptist Church Cemetery page, Click
Here
¹Information
gathered primarily from the
research done by Michael Montgomery Watts and published in the book
"The Teays Valley Baptist Association: a brief history",
copyright 1995 by The Teays Valley Baptists Association, and
independent research by WVCPA staff at the West Virginia Baptist
Historical Society archives located at the West
Virginia Baptist Conference Center at Parchment Valley,
Ripley, WV.
Comments:
We would love to add old
photos of this church - particularly from the time it was in active
use. Does anyone have any more
history of this congregation to share, or any information on its
current ownership and future? Contact us at.