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This little country church is located on Betsey's Gap Hwy. (Hwy. 209) on
the upper end of Spring Creek, in Madison County, North Carolina. Although
it has been closed for several years, this little church still stands tall
and serves as a reminder of the important role it has played in meeting the
spiritual needs of the many local families that made up its congregation in
days gone by. Ball City Baptist Church was once a thriving church whose
older members seemed to have died out, and whose younger members moved away
in search of jobs and greener pastures. The church building and grounds
are still taken care of by the widow of its last deacon (Loyd Fish) Lura
Fish and her son James Fish, who still live nearby, in hopes that it might
one day open its doors again to serve the spirtual needs of this little
community.
Ball City Baptist Church was established in the early 1900's, at a time
when going to church or anywhere for that matter, was accomplished by
travelling on foot on the rugged mountain trails of that day. Its parent
church, the Lusk Baptist Chapel was established in1889, and it was too far
for some of the families in the upper end of Spring Creek to travel to.
The Ball City Baptist Church was consequently built as a mission or part
of Lusk Baptist Chapel. The lumber was sawn and the little church building
was erected by the dedicated families living nearby in the shadow of the
Little Ball and Big Ball mountains on land donated by the Miller family.
There were 94 members recorded in 1911. In 1927 the total collection for
Ball City Baptist Church consisted of the following: (1) bushel of corn
meal, (2) bushels of corn, (6) gallons of shelled corn, (400) plants, and
$3.50 in cash. The minister was paid an annual salary of $100.00, which
was raised by church members giving 25 cents a week per person, throughout
the year.
Melburn Miller whose father donated the land for the Ball City Baptist
Church, remembers the icy waters of the stream coming down the mountain
being dammed up and the lively baptizing ceremonies held there in that cold
mountain water. Last year (1996) the little church was given a new paint
job, which was financed by concerned local people and the families from far
and near that have ties to this little country church and its community.
Some of the people and their families that attended this little church over
the years along with the Miller and Fish families included; Ossie and
Ellen Justice, Cluvis and Hattie Fish (Cluvis was choir director), Arthur
and Bertha Moore (singers whose favorite song was "The Lord Will Make A Way
Somehow"), Pink and Rachel Coward (Pink was custodian for many years, he
kept the church warm and clean, and always had a bucket of fresh drinking
water for the preacher and congregation at each service), Grady and Nola
Coward (Grady was a deacon), Avery and Wilma Allen (Wilma was a musician,
she was pianist for Ball City Baptist Church, and Lusk Baptist Chapel -
Ball City Baptist Church held services on Sunday afternoons, and Lusk
Baptist Chapel held services on Sunday mornings), Mayo Reeves, George and
Ida (Reeves) Wells (Mayo and Ida were brother and sister, and after George
died they lived in a little log cabin just below Ball City Baptist Church),
Shorty and Eula Clark (Eula was church organist - she played the old pump
organ and the accordian), John and Martha Justice, and many, many other
families from the upper end of Spring Creek.
Note: Anyone having additional information they would like to share about
Ball City Baptist Church or its people is welcome to contribute by contacting the
following:
Fred Price
12565 S. Kellyville Rd.
Atlanta, MI 49709
517-785-4699
E-mail: tugfork@amaesd.k12.mi.us
