Lone Pine Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Lone Pine Baptist Church in Anderson County. Now, every congregation's got an origin story, and this one starts the way the best ones do — quietly, with a handful of folks who just decided to show up. Sometime in the early 1890s, a small group of worshipers gathered in a little schoolhouse near this very site, a place known as Rocky Point.

No grand ceremony, no cornerstone laid. Just people who wanted to hold services together. Things stayed informal for a good while, but by 1903, this congregation meant business.

They purchased a plot of land and put up a one-room frame structure — serving double duty as both schoolhouse and church. And on that property stood exactly one pine tree. One.

That lone pine gave the church its name: Lone Pine Baptist Church. Sometimes the plainest facts make the best names. Now, even though that congregation had been meetin' regularly before it made anything official, the church was formally organized on July 8, 1908 — with 34 charter members stepping forward to make it so.

The Reverend A. M. Thompson was called as first pastor, and he held that position until his death in 1911.

Three years at the helm, and then gone. The marker doesn't linger on it, and neither should we — but it's worth a moment of quiet. The church kept growing.

In 1916, a larger building was erected to hold both the congregation and the school under one roof. Then, about a year after that, the two institutions parted ways — church going one direction, school going another. And in June of 1920, the congregation built themselves what they called the tabernacle.

Now, I want you to picture this: permanent walls, a proper roof — but the floor inside? Dirt. Just the good Anderson County earth beneath your boots.

That was the tabernacle. But Lone Pine wasn't finished improvin'. Continued growth over the years let the congregation do just that — improve the tabernacle, build additional facilities — until finally, in 1957, a new church auditorium was dedicated.

From a one-room schoolhouse near Rocky Point in the 1890s to a dedicated auditorium in 1957 — and still serving the community past eight decades of Sundays. That lone pine on the property is long gone from the telling, but the church it named is still standing.

What the marker says

This congregation traces its history to a small group of worshipers who gathered together in the early 1890s to hold services in a small schoolhouse near this site known as Rocky Point. A plot of land was purchased by the church in 1903, and a one-room frame structure was built for school and church purposes. The one pine tree on the property gave the church its name: Lone Pine Baptist Church. Although the congregation met regularly before then, the church was formally organized on July 8, 1908, with 34 charter members. The Rev. A. M. Thompson was called as first pastor, a position he held until his death in 1911. In 1916 a larger building was erected for the combination church and school. About one year later the two institutions were divided, and a church structure was built in June 1920. Called the tabernacle, it had permanent walls and a roof, but the interior floor was of dirt. Continued growth over the years enabled the congregation to improve the tabernacle and build additional facilities. A new church auditorium was dedicated in 1957. The church continues to serve the community as it has for over eight decades. (1989)