State

«■» T. i s ■ * * 1 rt| -, Ж{ i I* L_ ■ = Л * f-lL r ip \ r ЛЛ 'гЪс ,■ . id* V 1 prW-" i *\ This picture of Flat River Church was taken before it was repainted recently. Flat River Church One of I ho oldosl churches In \orlh Carolina, it lias boon in steady use for almost tuo con- turlos. Ry Mildred Satterfield Xichols I WOULD not dispute the state¬ ment that St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, built at Hath in 1734. i« the oldest church in North Carolina, hut in looks at least thi* picture of Flat River Primitive Baptist Church near Koxboro. in Person County, be¬ lies the fact. Very old people handed down to thi- generation the -lory that the first rec¬ ord book of the church was burned. It i- very probable that this is au¬ thentic, hut whether it i* or not, the one preserved i- interesting enough. record* have boon kept and i member to member aple pas- on. At the u x Davis is been a tnem- h forry-nine years but nd.d the church sixty- 1 ferret! -|J. •*1|»toil in 11 of her of the cl -av. lie he- . Deve it., i. IC.t V i„i. tail vorv de¬ eded in beautiful handwriting. Somewhere in the record* is found the date 17Г.З. however, on the first pap- of the hook we find this: “Presented by Robert Paine to Rev. George Roberts in I "Mi for the purpose of transcribing rec¬ ords.” With these dates it is then pos¬ sible that Flat River Church was fir»t in Granville County, then Orange, for Orange was made from Granville in 1 7 1 and Person from Orange in 1701. It seems to be a proved fact that the -ins of the present generation are not new, for we find this record: "On the waters of Flat River, third •Saturday in March. 1 7 Mi i people, who are called by name-, are brought before the church for these offenses). "First, neglecting due attendance. Second, failing to take the Lord'- Sup¬ per more than once. Third, throwing away hu-land and taking another. Fourth, sin of drunkeness.” To people interested in name- and tracing family genealogy, the old rec¬ ord l«ook would prove most valuable. However, they would probably be em¬ barrassed by their family tree before they finished reading, for it -corns that every member was called at some time before the church for some offense. So far ns I have been able to find «nit. this is the only church in the state with a huge chimney and it fire-place -till in use. Only last month a cheerful fire warmed the congregation. In very cold weather other mean- of heating are used. Unique Building Unique today is the shed on the back • if the church which was used as a place for slaves to sit and hear the gospel expounded. Color.*! member- after slavery days continued to wor¬ ship here. At the present time there is only one colored member left. Aunt Harriett Lunsford, who is around seventy-five years old. No doubt built in a time when fam¬ ily burying grounds were traditional, the church has no cemetery. A lone grave for years could be seen near the church hut recently ha- been plowed over. I have been told that it was tin* grave of the pen.ni who built the church, hut this in no way can be sub¬ stantiated because no one knows when the church was built and the personal records do not tell. Rather recently the old church lin- bcen (minted and looks spick and span, but no alteration has been made to detract from it- antiquity. The present congregation are deep- looted in the "faith of their fathers" and sing the good old hymns without musical instruments, which were once considered the instruments of the devil. I here is a simple impressiveness about the service- which are held at Flat River Church. The people who worship there are plain, substantial, country people. They take their re¬ ligion seriously and are not inter¬ ested in modern frills. They are proud of their church despite the fact that it cannot begin to compare in equi|»- nicut nml adornment- of your churches in the big cities. Members Gather Early They usually gather at the church sonic time before Service* begin. The men get together in group- and dis- cu-- farming 0|ieration§ and other topics of the day. The women talk about -uoh topics as might he interest¬ ing to them. There is a feeling of good fellowship prevailing. Everybody knows everybody else and i- glad to sec them. Occasionally .von hear of changes in ( Continued on page twenty-one ) О