Antioch Methodist (Clinch County, Ga.)

Antioch Methodist Church was organized in 1844, and the consensus seems to be that this is the third structure on the site, although some sources claim it may only be the second site. The present church is believed to have been built in the mid 1890's. Reverend Irvin Roberts Booth (1822-1896), who moved to Clinch County in 1840 from South Carolina, is credited with the organization of the church and the raising of the first structure. He then served as pastor for fifty years and conducted the Sunday School class on the Sunday before his death in 1896 at the age of 84. A description of the church appears in The United Methodist "History of the South Georgia Conference"from 1982: "In Clinch County near the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp among tall pines, is a small one-room, high-arched-roof building, painted red with white trim. There is no electricity or modern comforts and there is silence all about. This is Antioch." Antioch's appeal is in the architectural proportions, the red paint and white trim, and the cedar shake roof. This is one of the smallest rural churches in Georgia. Most have either four or five standard windows on the side, while others have six. Antioch has only two. Even the little chimney has a unique charm, being hand made of local clay with uneven coloring.