New Mine Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and here's how I'm gonna tell it to you. Way out in Camp County, there's a little church with a story that goes all the way back to 1892. And like a lot of good stories, this one starts with a gift.

Mr. and Mrs. G. O.

Hart looked at a piece of their land, measured out an acre, and gave it over for a new church building. Just like that. One acre, and something lasting began.

The church was officially organized on September 11, 1892, and the Reverend J. H. Floyd stepped in as the very first pastor.

Now, there's a reason this congregation came to be, and the marker doesn't dress it up any fancier than it needs to be. The people around here simply did not want to make the trip all the way to Pittsburg every time they needed to worship. That was the main reason.

Not fire, not drama, just a community saying: we deserve a place of our own, right here. And so they built one. Over the years, various structures went up to hold the growing membership.

The church stayed small, stayed rural, stayed rooted. And here's the part that lands quiet but lands sure: the folks sitting in those pews today include descendants of the very charter members who showed up on day one. New Mine Baptist Church never became famous.

It just endured. And out here in Camp County, that counts for just about everything.

What the marker says

This congregation traces its history to 1892 when Mr. and Mrs. G. O. Hart gave an acre of land for a new church building. The church was officially organized on September 11, 1892, and the Rev. J. H. Floyd served as the first pastor. One of the main reasons for the establishment of this congregation was so the members would not have to travel to Pittsburg for worship services. It has remained a small rural church, with various structures built over the years to accommodate the membership, which includes descendants of charter members.