Colemans Chapel (Jefferson County, Ga.)

Coleman's Chapel was organized shortly after the Civil War and named for Lindsey Coleman who had built a school there during the war. It began as a brush arbor and the church was built shortly thereafter in 1871. It has undergone extensive improvements since then. However, the church has a colorful history and the cemetery contains many Civil War vets who managed to survive the conflict. The following history was compiled by John Kirkland from various sources. Lindsey Coleman owned what must have been a large/profitable farm/plantation in the area because it had its own schoolhouse...no cutting school there without your parents finding out! During the Civil War there wasn't a school in the area until Lindsey Coleman built a schoolhouse near his home for the benefit of his own children and others in the community. After the war a confederate soldier possibly from Greene County, Georgia took over the school and either incorporated Sunday School teachings into the curriculum or "talked up" Sunday School to the families of those attending school there. Soon a brush arbor was built alongside of the school building (late 1860s) and the seeds of Coleman's Chapel were planted. Revivals were held and gradually folks began joining the church. In 1870 a local Methodist elder, Dr. L. B. Boschell who practiced medicine in Summertown, Georgia and often preached for the congregation, organized the church and C. J. Toole was appointed as the first true pastor. In 1871 Mr. M. A. Evan deeded seven and a half acres to the church, a building committee was appointed, lumber was cut and a church was built with the help of M. B. Watkins (Private Mills Bennett Watkins, CSA, buried in the cemetery) and A. A. Fountain.