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.
Mt. 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 four 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 believedto have been well over
100 years old.
Mt. Sinai Baptist Church 2008
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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
