Near Eatonton in Putnam County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
Philadelphia United Methodist Church
Photographed By David Seibert, August 4, 2010
1. Philadelphia United Methodist Church Marker
Inscription.
Philadelphia United Methodist Church. . In 1839, Philadelphia Sunday School Society was organized and a house of worship was built on a tract of land on Lick Creek donated by the Turner family. Joel Chandler Harris, while he lived in Turnwold Plantation, attended this church with his mentor Joseph Addison Turner, editor of The Countryman. Near the close of the Civil War, in late November 1864, General William Tecumseh Sherman's 20th US Army Corps passed through the neighborhood of the church on his infamous “March To The Sea” to capture the port city of Savannah for President Lincoln. Confederate soldiers who were on picket duty and camped near Philadelphia Church posted the following notice: “Soldier of the Union Army -- Deface not this church, nor destroy anything within its walls as you love the union for which you are manfully fighting -– An Officer.” The message prevented the Union Soldiers from defacing the church building. As the community and congregation grew steadily after the war -– its members having survived the hardship of Union-imposed post-war Reconstruction through the end of 1871 -– and after a more prosperous economy returned, the members of the church decided that the church building needed to be moved nearer to the center of the community. On October 15, 1884, Mrs. Frances Rhoda Hines Turner Hubert graciously deeded the land on which the present church building stands. Timbers from the original church building were used in the construction of the present structure on this site. Early church records and tombstones in the large cemetery bear silent witness to the names of many early church families including Alexander, Batchelor, Beal, Collier, Credelle, Dance, Dennis, Denham, Gatewood, Holt, Little, Maddox, Montgomery, Reddick, Rogers, Rosser, Slaughter, Spivey, Turner and Wheeler. Descendants of these early families are continuing to carry on the work of the founders of this church today. This plaque is dedicated to the Glory of God and to the ministers and members of this church who have willingly given so much in order that His message of salvation and the life eternal might be shared with all mankind.
In 1839, Philadelphia Sunday School Society was organized and a house of worship was built on a tract of land on Lick Creek donated by the Turner family. Joel Chandler Harris, while he lived in Turnwold Plantation, attended this church with his mentor Joseph Addison Turner, editor of The Countryman. Near the close of the Civil War, in late November 1864, General William Tecumseh Sherman's 20th US Army Corps passed through the neighborhood of the church on his infamous “March To The Sea” to capture the port city of Savannah for President Lincoln. Confederate soldiers who were on picket duty and camped near Philadelphia Church posted the following notice: “Soldier of the Union Army -- Deface not this church, nor destroy anything within its walls as you love the union for which you are manfully fighting -– An Officer.” The message prevented the Union Soldiers from defacing the church building. As the community and congregation grew steadily after the war -– its members having survived the hardship of Union-imposed post-war Reconstruction through the end of 1871 -– and after a more prosperous economy returned, the members of the church decided that the church building needed to be moved nearer to the center of the community. On October 15, 1884, Mrs. Frances Rhoda Hines Turner Hubert graciously deeded the land on which the present
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church building stands. Timbers from the original church building were used in the construction of the present structure on this site. Early church records and tombstones in the large cemetery bear silent witness to the names of many early church families including Alexander, Batchelor, Beal, Collier, Credelle, Dance, Dennis, Denham, Gatewood, Holt, Little, Maddox, Montgomery, Reddick, Rogers, Rosser, Slaughter, Spivey, Turner and Wheeler. Descendants of these early families are continuing to carry on the work of the founders of this church today. This plaque is dedicated to the Glory of God and to the ministers and members of this church who have willingly given so much in order that His message of salvation and the life eternal might be shared with all mankind.
Erected 2002 by Members of the Philadelphia United Methodist Church, Friends and Eatonton-Putnam County Historical Society, Inc.
Location. 33° 21.833′ N, 83° 16.083′ W. Marker is near Eatonton, Georgia, in Putnam County. Marker is on New Phoenix Road, 0.6 miles east of Old Phoenix
Photographed By David Seibert, February 19, 2005
2. Philadelphia United Methodist Church Marker
Road, on the right when traveling west. The marker stands at the church sanctuary, a short distance off the road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 264 New Phoenix Road, Eatonton GA 31024, United States of America. Touch for directions.
3. Philadelphia United Methodist Church and Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on November 25, 2021. It was originally submitted on August 25, 2010, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. This page has been viewed 1,249 times since then and 21 times this year. Last updated on November 24, 2021, by Bill Witherspoon of Decatur, Georgia. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on August 25, 2010, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.