Independent Hope Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way out in Camp County, in a place called the Bolton community, a story began the way so many of the best ones do, quietly, and under open sky. In the late 1880s, African-American residents of that community gathered for worship under a brush arbor.

No walls, no roof to speak of, just branches and belief and people who showed up anyway. Now, that's a foundation if I ever heard one. The story didn't stop there.

By 1898, Polk and Elizabeth Bolton deeded land so the congregation could have a proper church building. Members completed that structure, and it became known as Bolton Church, the focal point of the whole settlement. A place where community life gathered itself together.

Then came 1942. A storm destroyed the old building. That's not a small thing.

That's the kind of blow that can scatter a congregation, make folks wonder if it's worth starting over. But these members didn't scatter. They replaced it.

And when they did, they gave it a new name: Independent Hope Baptist Church. That name has carried forward ever since. Through all of it, early years and hard years alike, the members of this church worked diligently to help others in their community, particularly the elderly and the sick.

That thread of service runs straight through the whole story without a single knot. And today, Independent Hope Baptist Church still stands in Camp County, still described the same way it has earned the right to be described: a beacon of light. Some things you just can't improve on.

What the marker says

In the late 1880s, African-American residents of the Bolton community held worship services under a brush arbor. By 1898, Polk and Elizabeth Bolton deeded land for a church building. Members completed the structure for Bolton Church, which would also serve as the focal point of the settlement. In 1942, the congregation replaced the old building, which was destroyed by a storm, and also gave the church its current name. Since the church's early years, members have worked diligently to help others in the community, particularly the elderly and sick. Today, Independent Hope Baptist Church continues to serve as a beacon of light in Camp County. (2009)