Near Newville in Henry County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Green Valley Missionary Baptist Church
Photographed by James L.Whitman, September 22, 2024
1. Green Valley Missionary Baptist Church Marker
Inscription.
Green Valley Missionary Baptist Church is among the oldest active churches in Henry County. It was established in 1865 by freedmen of the surrounding community as a combination church and school. The first edifice was a small log structure built on land donated by Little Boy Reynolds along a dirt road. The church's early ministers were the reverends Warmack, Searcy, and Butler. Later, as the surrounding land was sold, the new owner filed a deed transferring ownership of the church grounds to the congregation in perpetuity. Deacons George Weems, Jack Bigham, and Bailey Thomas signed the deed on behalf of the congregation. Green Valley served as a "mother church" for other African American houses of worship in Henry County. These include the Missionary Baptist churches of Bethlehem, Friendship, Rocky Mount, and Mount Olive, as well as the St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Green Valley Missionary Baptist Church is among the oldest active churches in Henry County. It was established in 1865 by freedmen of the surrounding community as a combination church and school. The first edifice was a small log structure built on land donated by Little Boy Reynolds along a dirt road. The church's early ministers were the reverends Warmack, Searcy, and Butler. Later, as the surrounding land was sold, the new owner filed a deed transferring ownership of the church grounds to the congregation in perpetuity. Deacons George Weems, Jack Bigham, and Bailey Thomas signed the deed on behalf of the congregation. Green Valley served as a "mother church" for other African American houses of worship in Henry County. These include the Missionary Baptist churches of Bethlehem, Friendship, Rocky Mount, and Mount Olive, as well as the St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Erected 2023 by Henry County Historical Group, Inc. and History Revealed, a program of the Alabama Historical Association.
85° 23.015′ W. Marker is near Newville, Alabama, in Henry County. It is on County Road 40 east of County Road 220, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 6104 Henry County 40, Newville AL 36353, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and in the Wiregrass. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Photographed by James L.Whitman, September 22, 2024
3. Green Valley Missionary Baptist Church Marker
looking west
Credits. This page was last revised on October 24, 2024. It was originally submitted on September 22, 2024, by James L.Whitman of Eufaula, Alabama. This page has been viewed 289 times since then and 33 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on September 22, 2024, by James L.Whitman of Eufaula, Alabama. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.
