Columbia Baptist Church

Columbia Baptist Church. . , Side 1 , This church was constituted in 1835 following the withdrawal of six people from Omussee Baptist Church in a dispute over the role of missions. The first pastor Edmund Talbot, who served the Church until 1853, donated that land and had the church built at his own expense. It was situated at the present site of the Willis J. Bell grave in Columbia Cemetery. In 1859 a new building was constructed by Nathaniel Ferris Oakley just to the south of the original church. This was replaced by a red brick auditorium which was erected in 1885., Side 2 , The Omussee Baptist Church dissolved shortly after the “split-off” which resulted in the organization of the Columbia Baptist Church. Both churches probably belonged to the Chattahoochee River Association in their formative years. In 1839 the Church joined the Bethel Association of Georgia. It later affiliated with the Judson Association. On November 7, 1885 the Columbia Baptist Church participated in the organization meeting of the Columbia Baptist Association which was held at Bluff Spring Church in Henry County, Alabama.