Old Union Church & Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do it justice. Out here in Newton County, there's a piece of ground that's been holding stories since before the Civil War even had a beginning. This is the Old Union Church and Cemetery, and the roots go deep.

Real deep. Now, the church was organized formally in 1855, with fifty-four charter members signing on. But here's the thing the records whisper: a congregation was already gathering here as early as 1851.

Four years before anyone made it official. Some folks just couldn't wait on the paperwork. The first pastor of that congregation was a man named Enoch S.

S. Phelps, and when his time on this earth was done, they laid him right here in this very cemetery. The shepherd buried among his flock.

Now, for decades, this community held monthly services and summer camp meetings on this ground. You can almost hear the singing carry through the pines if you stand still long enough. But sometime in the early nineteen hundreds, fire found the old log sanctuary and burned it down.

What rose in its place is the present structure, still standing. Then came 1928, and the congregation moved on, relocating to Cline's Ferry Road. The land beneath that cemetery, kept in what's known as the scraped style, was given in 1876 by a man named W.

A. Droddy. And walking among these graves, you'll find descendants of John Newton, the man for whom this entire county carries a name.

The pastor's here. The founders' kin are here. And the ground itself has been holding them in trust since 1876.

Some places don't just mark history. They keep it.

What the marker says

This Baptist Church was organized formally in 1855 with 54 charter members, although records indicate a congregation was in existence as early as 1851. An early 1900s fire burned their log sanctuary, which was replaced by the present structure. Monthly services and summer camp meetings were held here until 1928, when the church moved to Cline's Ferry Road. The congregation's first pastor, Enoch S. S. Phelps, is buried in this cemetery, as are descendants of John Newton, for whom the county is named. Land for the "scraped style" cemetery was given in 1876 by W. A. Droddy.