- Collection:
- Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation Presentation Slide Collection, 1968-2000
- Title:
- Midway Church
- Creator:
- Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation
- Contributor to Resource:
- Osgood, John, 1710 or 1711-1773
- Date of Original:
- 1972-06
- Subject:
- Architecture
Historic sites--Georgia--Liberty County
Historic buildings--Georgia--Liberty County
Architecture, Domestic--Georgia--Liberty County
Cultural property--Protection
Historic preservation--Georgia
Historic buildings--Conservation and restoration - Location:
- United States, Georgia, Liberty County, Midway, 31.80577, -81.43066
- Medium:
- color slides
churches (buildings)
historic preservation
historic buildings - Type:
- Still Image
- Format:
- image/jp2
- Description:
- In 1754 the Midway Society, stressing the interrelation of Christianity and daily living, was organized by a colony from Dorchester, South Carolina. In 1696 a group of Puritans from Massachusetts and Connecticut moved to South Carolina settling on the Ashley River near Charleston. In 1752 largely because of their need for larger tracts of land, they secured grants in the area generally designated as the Midway District, both sides of the Midway and Newport Rivers. The first service was led by Rev. John Osgood on January 2, 1757. Reflecting the Congregational or Independent form of government, the Church was divided into two separate branches - the Church and the Society. The Articles of Incorporation of the Society provided that those settlers who took up land grants should be members of the Society though not necessarily of the Church. From its National Register of Historic Places form prepared by William R. Mitchell, Jr., Carole Summers, and Elizabeth Z. Macgregor in 1972:The first permanent church at Midway was built in 1756 "on the hill at the cross paths on the north side of the north branch of Newport Swamp." The residents of Midway were active in parish politics and were staunch advocates of independence from England. As such, the church was burned by the British in 1778 under Lieutenant Colonel Mark Prevost; the present Midway Church was rebuilt on the same site. With its rebuild completed in 1792, the Midway Church's simplicity was typical of Protestant meeting houses of the 18th century; plain white clapboard buildings with green shuttered windows, a pediment adorned by two circular windows, and a simple belfry–all resembling a New England-style meeting house. The interior of the church is typical also of early Protestant churches in Georgia, where galleries for enslaved persons laid against the side and rear walls dictate the double tier of windows common to early churches. A high pulpit with a sounding board overhead was moved in 1849 from the east to the north end and the gallery for enslaved persons extended to the three opposite sides. It was common in colonial and antebellum times for white enslavers and enslaved African Americans to attend the same church. The Midway Church had a gallery and services for the enslaved people that were also held in a building on the Church grounds. The church's central entrance was used by white people, and a smaller door on the left was used by enslaved persons to enter the gallery. From its founding until the first Baptist church was established in 1806, the Midway Church was the only church in the area, and served as a meeting place for the entire county, both black and white residents. Although the Midway Church building has not been used for regular worship services since 1867, it has continued to be maintained by the Midway Society, which holds an annual meeting and homecoming for descendants of all antebellum Church members. Variant names include: Midway Church. See ref# 73000625 (Midway Historic District) https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/upload/national-register-listed-20240710.xlsx
- External Identifiers:
- Metadata URL:
- https://dlg.usg.edu/record/gthp_gthp-slides_354
- Digital Object URL:
- https://dlg.usg.edu/record/gthp_gthp-slides_354#item
- IIIF manifest:
- https://dlg.usg.edu/record/gthp_gthp-slides_354/presentation/manifest.json
- Language:
- eng
- Additional Rights Information:
- Please contact holding institution for information regarding use and copyright status.
- Holding Institution:
- Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation
- Rights:
-
