Braswell Methodist (Paulding County, Ga.)

Braswell Methodist Church on Brushy Mountain Road was organized in September of 1922 on land donated for the purpose from Mr. R. F. Taylor and J.B. Camp. According to the history, the church was built by the members, who also built the pews and the pulpit. Construction was simple for the little structure but highly unusual in that is has a low hipped roof and a small bell tower. Oddly enough, there is a bell in the tower that no one seems to know anything about until an HRCGA photographer thrust his camera into it and took a flash photo. Braswell was one of those towns that began life as a railroad stop when the Southern Railroad laid the tracks in this part of Georgia in the early 1880s. It was created in Dec. of 1895 by an act of the Georgia general assembly. Braswell was named for Henry Braswell, a prominent citizen of the nearby town of Dallas who ran a prominent sawmill in the area and also worked for the railroad. Braswell was also the location of the only tunnel (now abandoned) on Southern Railway's Chattanooga to Atlanta main line. The town began a steep decline in the 1920's.