Church History
History of Mt. Sinai Baptist Church
Mt. Sinai Baptist Church was at first an arm of Buffalo Baptist Church. It was organized on May 20, 1848. It was constituted on this date by a presbytery consisting of Elder Louis H. McSwain and the deacons from several surrounding churches. There were 30 charter members. Very little is known about its early history. The early minutes were either lost or burned. The church, it is thought, was organized in the Broad River School building just south of the present site. Elder Louis H. McSwain, having taken an active part in the measures leading up to the organization of the church, was therefore chosen as its first pastor. The other church officers were: Deacons: Thomas McSwain, John Randall and John McSwain. Church Clerk: John Randall On March 30, 1850, Francis Young deeded and conveyed to Thomas McSwain and John McSwain, deacons and their successors in office the land for the first building and the cemetery. The deed was witnessed by and signed by F.S. Ramsour and W.R. Roberts. There were 2.25 acres of land.
Mount Sinai Baptist Church 1870
The first church building was of log construction, standing about one hundred feet due west from the present site. Older citizens report that the second building was erected about 1870. It was of frame construction. In 1928, plans were begun to add more rooms to this one-room structure. Most of the work was done by church members who donated their time. The re-modeled building was dedicated on Thanksgiving Day of the same year.
It was a building with opaque windows and a square top. There were seven separate Sunday school rooms. The auditorium seated about a hundred people. The walls were brick and a front porch was added. The building was used for church services from 1928 until early 1954. From that time on it was used for classes, a recreation center and for storage until May 24, 1973 when it was destroyed by fire. The original structure is believed to have been well over 130 years old.
Mount Sinai Baptist Church 2008
In conference April 8, 1951 the church elected as a building committee: W.H. Putnam, C.V. Harrill, W.E. Clary, and Andrew Hunt. On November 22, 1953 the church voted to construct a new church building. Eighteen thousand dollars was borrowed to help finance the construction. C.D. Hunt was the contractor. On Easter Sunday of 1954 the first service was held in the new church. Since this time there have been several additions and the church is continually growing. Most recently added is the New Education Building, which was dedicated on May 1, 2005. Membership has grown from 30 members to 504 members as of August 2006. This includes active and non-active members.
Groundbreaking for New Education Building
Note Burning Ceremony for New Education Building
New Church Building
Additional Information
Mount Sinai Baptist Cemetery
Cleveland County, NC
To reach this cemetery from Shelby, NC, take Highway NC 18 south for about 6-8 miles and find the intersection with a flashing caution light. This is the intersection of NC 18 and NC 180. Turn right at this intersection on to Mt. Sinai Church Rd. and go 2-3 miles. The cemetery is on this road on the right and you won't miss it.
This cemetery was recorded by Denise Ledbetter.
THE SURNAMES
ALLEN, BESS, BLANTON, BODENHAMMER, BORDERS, BOSTIC, BOWEN,
BRANCH, BRIDGES, BROWN, CAMPBELL, CHAMPION, CHILDERS, CLARY, DAVIDSON, DREWERY, ELLIS, ELLISON, EMORY,ENSLEY, EVANS, FLYNN, FORTENBERRY, FRASER, FREEMAN, GIBBIE, HAMRICK, HARDIN, HARRILL, HAWKINS, HAYNES, HOPPER, HUGHES, HUNT, JOLLY, KINSEY, LANCASTER, LEDBETTER, LOOKADOO, LOW, MACKEY, MELTON, MCSWAIN, MODE, MOORE, MORGAN, MOYER, MURRAY, NORVILLE, OGLE, PEARSON, PHILBECK, PRICE, PUTNAM, RHOM, ROLLINS, RONNING, SANSING, SCHOOF, SCISM, SMITHSON, THEIS, THRIFT, TRAMMEL, VESS, WALLACE, WARD,WEAVER, WEBB, WESSON, WHITE, WHITECOTTON, WHITTLE, WILKINS, WILLIAMS, WILSON, WRAY