Historical Marker for Cloud's Creek Baptist Church
Approved by the Georgia Historical Society

by Alice Hughes

During the past two years, a group of first cousins, Descendants of Robinson and Elizabeth Hartsfield Hendon, has been working to erect a historical marker to commemorate the founding of Cloud's Creek Baptist Church in Oglethorpe County, Georgia.

We approached the Georgia Historical Society, located in Savannah. That organization was initiating a new statewide historic marker program to honor the deeds of people, places, and events that shaped this state's history.

The state review committee met on Friday, March 19, 1999, to consider the detailed Final Application for the proposed marker. As liaison for our group, I attended the meeting in Savannah and answered questions concerning the church's history and that of the families who founded it.

Based on the written, documented narrative, the historical marker was unanimously approved by committee members from all across Georgia.

The marker text will read:

The free-standing marker will be installed in September 1999. A plaque listing the names of charter members and given by their descendants will be attached to the exterior wall of the church building. Seven Hendons will be included. The text of the plaque will read as follows:

A public dedication of the historical marker and plaque will be held on the occasion of Cloud's Creek Baptist Church's 211th anniversary. This ceremony will begin at 2:00 p.m. and will be followed by a reception in the fellowship hall.

We would very much like to have each of the charter members represented by descendants at the ceremony. If anyone reading this is a descendant of a charter member (or knows of someone who is) and hasn't already gotten in touch with me, please do write me a note (my e-mail address is sevenosix@worldnet.att.net).

The total cost of the marker itself is $1,500. The Georgia Historical Society will pay $750 plus the cost of installation. Supporters are expected to pay the remaining $750 as well as the cost of maintenance. The plaque will be an additional substantial expense. If you would like to make a donation, please write your check to Janice P. Gillespie, Treasurer, and mail it to:

  A Brief History of Cloud's Creek Baptist Church  

compiled and written by Alice Hughes

After the Revolutionary War, land grants for military service were given in Georgia.¹ Certain pioneers arriving in the northern portion of Wilkes County (later to become Oglethorpe County) were a close-knit group of families from Wake County, North Carolina. Interconnected by blood and marriage, they included Hendons, Olives, and Hartsfields.² Beginning in 1785, they formed a community near Big Cloud's Creek.³

The Cherokee and Creek Nations overlapped in this area, and tensions between the two tribes erupted -- fully directed against the settlers.⁴ For protection, Anthony Olive built a two-storied blockhouse and stockade known as Olive's Fort. His wife, Kerenhappuch, was a younger sister to three Hendon brothers: Robinson, William, and Thomas, who along with their families used the fort for refuge.⁵

Olive's Fort became the community's spiritual center on Saturday, September 20, 1788 when Cloud's Creek Baptist Church was constituted within its walls.⁶ The congregation joined the Georgia Association (Baptist) the following month.⁷

In less than a decade, the church site was moved two and a half miles south to its present location. Legend states timbers from the old fort were used in the construction of the first church building.⁸ Thomas Hendon deeded the land and the existing structure to the church on May 12, 1798.⁹ Cloud's Creek united with the Sarepta Association of Baptists in 1800.¹⁰ William Hendon was ordained on July 11, 1807, and served as minister for more than four years thereafter.¹¹ During these early years, Robinson Hendon acted as mediator for the congregation.¹²

Cloud's Creek Church, Oglethorpe County, Georgia, in 1996

The second sanctuary on this site was completed and dedicated on October 31, 1909,¹³ though the congregation had been meeting in the unfinished building as early as 1907.¹⁴ This structure continues to function as the place of worship.

Membership rolls, including the names of family slaves, exist from the time of the church's organization.¹⁵ The races did not separate until June 7, 1873, when eighteen black members met at Cloud's Creek to organize Piney Grove Baptist Church.¹⁶ Their meeting house was later constructed from usable material salvaged from Cloud's Creek's first church building.¹⁷

Minutes of Cloud's Creek Baptist Church are preserved from 1805 forward.¹⁸

In a thicket beside Cloud's Creek Church are burial plots of early church members. Marked only with field stones, time has obscured the identities of specific graves. These earliest settlers, including Robinson Hendon, Anthony Olive, and Kerenhappuch Hendon Olive Clift, are remembered by stories handed down through successive generations.¹⁹

The sanctuary of the church, with flowers given by the Hendon descendants remembering their Kerenhappuch cousin, J. Marshall Richardson (September 1998)

Every September, present-day members, descendants of the founders, and friends gather to celebrate the anniversary of the church's beginnings. Following the singing of "Amazing Grace," the names of the twenty-five charter members are read from the pulpit.²⁰

The Hendons and related families gradually left Cloud's Creek to settle elsewhere. Thomas, also ordained, went to North Carolina to preach and later relocated to Tennessee.²¹ William settled in Franklin County, Tennessee.²² Robinson's widow, Elizabeth Hartsfield Hendon, and family moved to Troup County. Their son, Hartsfield Hendon, was elected to the Georgia state legislature in 1839.²³

Perhaps the most prominent descendant of the Cloud's Creek Hendons was William Berry Hartsfield (1890-1971),²⁴ state legislator and longtime mayor of Atlanta, for whom the Hartsfield International Airport is named.²⁵

Today, Cloud's Creek Baptist Church, a part of the Southern Baptist Convention, Georgia Baptist Convention, and Sarepta Baptist Association, has a membership of 225, led by a full-time minister. Under the leadership of a full-time youth director, the active program insures the future of the church. The young people are involved in projects such as Christmas in August and Shoe Box Ministries.²⁶

Outreach has played a role in the work of the congregation since 1833 when $4.00 was designated for domestic missions.²⁷ In 1993, the church sent a truckload of supplies to Morgan City, Louisiana, after it was struck by Hurricane Andrew. The following year, the congregation collected approximately $2,800 to aid in the cleanup resulting from floods in South Georgia caused by Hurricane Alberto. In the spring of 1998, tornado victims of Hall County, Georgia, received donations from Cloud's Creek Church.²⁸

Cloud's Creek Church likewise focuses on missions abroad by contributing to the annual December offering sponsored by the Southern Baptist Convention. Church members have also assisted missionary families by collecting and mailing needed supplies.²⁹

In its more than two-hundred-year history, the little country church has quietly provided strength to its community and reached beyond itself to serve others..

Endnotes

       1   Wise, Lena Smith, The Story of Oglethorpe County,  p. 7.
       2   Morris, Aubrey, "The Hendon Family."
       3   Hendon, Robinson, Headright/Bounty.
       4   Smith, Florrie Carter, Mrs., The History of Oglethorpe County, Georgia,  p. 7.
       5   Olive Family Association, James Olive Family, Wake County, N. C.,  p. 109.
       6   Minutes of the Cloud's Creek Baptist Church (hereafter referred to as CCBC): July 1856-April 3, 1897, p. 506.
       7   Mercer, Jesse, A History of the Georgia Baptist Association,  p. 21.
       8   Berryman, Jeanette P., Oral Tradition.
       9   Hendon, Thomas, Land Deed.
     10   CCBC Bicentennial Program, "Historical Data on Cloud's Creek Church."
     11   Minutes of the CCBC: 1805-1826, p. 41.
     12   Ibid.,  pp. 10, 11, 36.
     13   Minutes of the CCBC: May 1897-July 1912, p. 267.
     14   Ibid.,  p. 238.
     15   Roll of Members and Accounts of the CCBC.
     16   Minutes of the CCBC: July 1856-April 1897, pp. 206-207.
     17   McCannon, Mae Bell, Oral Tradition.
     18   Minutes of the CCBC.
     19   Berryman, Jeanette P.; Hughes, Alice H.; Richardson, James Marshall; Stevens, Claude G.: Oral Traditions.
     20   Minutes of the CCBC: July 1856-April 3, 1897, p. 507.
     21   Chancey, Grace Hendon, Letter to Mrs. Crumpton, May 7, 1971.
     22   Chancey, Grace Hendon, The Hendons from Gunpowder River,  p. 128.
     23   Johnson, Forrest Clark, III, Genealogical and Historical Register of Troup County, Georgia,  p. 331.
     24   Richardson, James Marshall, Descendants of Kerenhappuch "Happy" Hendon,  1760-1847,  Oglethorpe County Georgia,  pp. 3-4.
     25   Jenkins, James Sage, Atlanta in the Age of Pericles,  pp. 112-113.
     26   Berryman, Jeanette P., Interview.
     27   CCBC Bicentennial Program, "Historical Data on Cloud's Creek Church."
     28   Berryman, Jeanette P., Interview.
     29   Ibid.

  Select Bibliography 

     Berryman, Jeanette P. "A Historical Sketch of Cloud's Creek Baptist Church." 1988.
     ----------. Interview by author, Comer, GA, 19 January, 1999.
     Chancey, Grace Hendon. The Hendons from Gunpowder River. Tulsa, OK: Oklahoma Yesterday Publications, 1977.
     ----------. 1979 Supplement to The Hendons from Gunpowder River. 1979.
     ----------. Letter to Mrs. Crumpton, May 7, 1971.
     "Cloud's Creek Church Notes 175th Birthday." The Christian Index, vol. 142, no. 41 (October 10, 1963): 19.
     Davidson, Grace Gillam. Early Records of Georgia Vol's. I & II Wilkes County. Greenville, SC: Southern Historical Press, Inc., 1992 (originally published Macon, GA, 1933).
     Gabriel, Peggy. "Devil's Pond." The Oglethorpe Echo, September 21, 1995: 8.
     Hendon, Robinson, Headright/Bounty, 1785. Georgia Department of Archives and History.
     ----------. Will Book D, recorded January 7,1833: pp. 1-2. Oglethorpe County (GA) Courthouse.
     Hendon, Thomas. Headright/Bounty, 1785. Georgia Department of Archives and History.
     ----------. Land Deed (1798), recorded 1807. Oglethorpe County (GA) Courthouse.
     "Historical Data on Cloud's Creek Church." Cloud's Creek Baptist Church Bicentennial Program, 1988.
     Johnson, Forrest Clark, III. Genealogical and Historical Register of Troup County, GA, Volume III of the series Histories of LaGrange and Troup County, Georgia.
     Minutes of the Cloud's Creek Baptist Church. Oglethorpe County, GA, 1805-1999.
     Morris, Aubrey R. "The Hendon Family." SAR Dedication Remarks, Utoy Primitive Baptist Cemetery, October 3, 1998.
     Mercer, Jesse. A History of the Georgia Baptist Association. Washington, GA: 1838 (Reprinted 1980 by Georgia Baptist Association, Washington, GA).
     "Oglethorpe County Georgia Land: 1805 Land Lottery (Revolutionary Soldiers Drawing    Land in Oglethorpe County, Georgia). In Georgia Genealogical Magazine, no. 87 (Winter, 1983): 41-46.
     Olive Family Association. James Olive Family, Wake County, N.C. Ft. Worth, TX: Arrow Printing Company, 1965.
     Porterfield, Mildred, and Patsy Scarboro Porterfield. The Collier Family of Oglethorpe County Georgia. 1994.
     Richardson, Marshall. Descendants of Kerenhappuch "Happy" Hendon: 1760-1847, Oglethorpe County Georgia. Thomaston, GA: 1996.
     "Roll of Members and Accounts of the Cloud's Creek Baptist Church, Constituted 20th September, 1788, Oglethorpe County, Georgia."

     "Changing Oglethorpe: A Case Study in Rural Community Research and Development 1967-1973." In Rural Sociological Society Monograph, no. 5, 16-17. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University, 1979.
     Jenkins, James Sage. Atlanta in the Age of Pericles. Lithonia, GA: Chimney Hill Press, 1996.
     Morris, Aubrey R. The Haygoods of Mars Hill. Alpharetta, GA: 1996.
     Rogers, Ada D. The Housing of Oglethorpe County, Georgia, 1790-1860. Tallahassee, FL: Florida State University Press, 1971.
     Smith, Florrie Carter, Mrs. The History of Oglethorpe County, Georgia. Washington, GA: Wilkes Publishing Co., Inc., 1970.
     ----------. Supplement II, The History of Oglethorpe County, Georgia. Washington, GA: Wilkes Publishing Co., Inc., 1979.
     Wise, Lena Smith. The Story of Oglethorpe County. Lexington, GA: Historic Oglethorpe County, Inc., 1998 (second edition).