Friendship Baptist (Sumter County, Ga.)

Friendship Baptist, built in 1857 and located in northwestern Sumter County, is the oldest standing church in the county. Much of the history of the church would be lost if not for the efforts of Jack F. Cox, of Americus, and Mrs. Scott Hart, of Schley County. Mrs. Hart preserved the original minute book of Friendship Baptist, and Cox completed a transcription of it in 1980. The transcription is a treasure, transporting us to a time when the church stood at the center of a vibrant community. The minutes span a period from the church's founding in 1839 to a generation later in 1872. The earliest minutes reveal the congregation's origins during a time of agricultural prosperity for Sumter County. Names both obscure and famous dot the minutes, including the appearance of Wiley Carter in 1852: the great-great grandfather of the future president. While Carter, his wife, and a slave were welcomed as new members of the fold, others were expelled for unacceptable social behavior, including "Elisateth" Strong, who had become an Episcopalian.