"Records that have been found indicate that the first
Methodist Church was established at Cherry Lake during slavery times, presumably
between the years 1840-1845 in what is now known as the Baptist Cemetery.
The original church, called the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was
made of hewed logs with a balcony for the Negro slaves. Judge Tillman was
believed to have owned the land on which that building rested. Some of
the early families included the Blalocks, Burnetts, Coffees, Duttons, and
Wyches. This church body prospered and continued to grow until around 1860,
when the services were discontinued for approximately ten years. Old Quarterly
Conference Records indicate on February 14, 1866, Cherry Lake participated
in its first Conference in Madison as an official Methodist Church. The
succeeding second Conference held on April, 20, 1866, was hosted by Cherry
Lake at which time our church fathers entered into a permanent relationship
which has never been rent asunder. Four years later, brother J.L. Dutton
was officially authorized to apply various churches for funds with which
to build a new church at Cherry Lake to supplant the log building. From
William T. Burnett, a member of this early primitive church, came the memories
of that era. When the new church was built the old log structure became
the "barn in the cemetary" which was eventually moved to Mr. Sales' farm.
The present church was dedicated in 1891 by the Rev. T.S.
Armstead. The faith and dedication of the members is evidenced by the maintainence
and improvement of the buildings, and the cemetary over the years, and
in the building of the parsonage in 1974 and the educational building in
1980. While various circuits and the larger parish were established over
the years, the present linking of the Cherry Lake and Greenville churches
has been in place since 1973."
Click here
to go back to the Cherry Lake UMC home page!
Cherry
Lake U.M.C.