New Prospect Baptist Church

New Prospect Baptist Church. Winston County. , Organized two years after the Byler Road was completed, New Prospect Baptist Church is reportedly the oldest Baptist church in Winston County and one of the oldest in the state of Alabama. Located several yards north of the Byler Road, New Prospect held its first meeting in the fall of 1824. Land records show that Jacob Byler, the brother of John Byler, for whom the road was named, owned land surrounding the church. Many believe that the Byler family were charter members of the church. New Prospect became a charter member of the Winston Baptist Association in 1874. In 1884. the church replaced the original log building with a new building. The church constructed a larger building in 1901, which was destroyed by fire in 1924. For many years, New Prospect was the largest church in the association and is considered the mother church to several surrounding Baptist churches, including Macedonia, Haleyville First, Corinth Heights, and Sunny Home. (Continued on other side), (Continued from other side) The church's large cemetery contains the graves of several soldiers of various wars from the Revolutionary War onward. These include Captain Jacob Pruitt (Pruet), who served with the Tennessee Mounted Volunteers and fought in the Revolutionary War; Brigadier General Zachariah White, who fought in the Indian Wars; and at least 14 Confederate soldiers, including J.W. Pinkard, John Cagle, Henry Fulmer, and David Stephens. Along with the cemetery, the church property contains the current church building, constructed in 1999, the former church building, constructed in the 1920s, and a brick pastorium. New Prospect's solid foundation endures and the church continues to grow.