Received this information from the late Robert Blaine of Louisville, MS. He had a good bit of information on my Blain/Blaine lines that his mother had collected. She was Roas Belle Vanlandingham Blaine. David Blaine
In the history of Louisville Baptist Association, an
article says in 1844 Hopewell was received in the Louisville Association, along with Antioch
and Mt. Pisgah, two other churches now in Choctaw
County.
The
first building was a small one room structure made of logs, using wooden shutters to close the windows. There was no heating
facility; so in the wintertime the one service per month
was omitted until spring time when the weather was
warm. The building was located approximately 300 yards south-southeast of the present church. Families by name of BLAIN,
BERRY, NORRIS, and VANLANDINGHAM were instrumental in
organizing the church. By the year 1852, families of HUNT, HIGGS, ROOKS,
and VOWELLS were added to the membership roll making a total of 32
members. The pastor in 1852 was Thomas Y. ROLAND. The grave in the
cemetery with the earliest date is
Susan NORRIS,
daughter of Willie and Olive VANLANDINGHAM NORRIS, in the year 1851.
The minute book of
1869 said H. J. (Jack) VANLANDINGHAM served as pastor and was paid $60 for the
year. The church was valued at $250. There was no Sunday
School. Hopewell had 68 members: 25 were male, 39 female. One had
died that year and 3 were excluded. The Association met in
Louisville with Carson HUNT and Eley HUNT as
messengers.
From 1869 to 1894, the following men served as pastors: W. B. SAVAGE, J. W.
SIMS, J. W. BLAIN, W. W. BLAIN, A. J. REYNOLDS, W. W. WILLIAMSON, and H. M.
WHITTEN. There was a steady decline in membership though new families by
the name of SMITH, INGRAM, PARK, HOWELL, and GREGORY moved in.
In 1872, the boundary lines
were changed putting Hopewell in Choctaw County.
Hopewell remained in the Winston County Association until 1951 when she was accepted by Choctaw.
No record is found of when a
larger building was erected, but around the year 1886, a
larger building was erected almost on the same spot as the present church is
located.
In
1894, H. Jack VANLANDINGHAM returned to Hopewell as pastor with a salary of $75
for the year which included travel from his home in West Point. He
remained as pastor for 10 years.
From 1904 to 1937 pastors
were: J. T. SARGENT, L. A. ROEBUCK, C. W. BARNES, N. H. ROBERTS, H. M. WHITTEN,
A. C. FURR, and W. A. ROPER. Membership, pastor's salary, and value of
church property increased gradually.
In 1933, a new roof was put
on the church. A bill for 93 pieces of 10 foot tin
and 25 lbs. lead headed nails with a total cost of $67.61 took care of
the job. A. C. FURR was pastor. Other pastors were: Charles
WHITEN, Duel HILLMAN, Elgin WEST, O. B. LENICK, and N. H.
ROBERTS.
In
1951, Hopewell went on a budget for the first time in history under direction of pastor H. C. BRELAND. It was during his pastorate
that the span one room building was torn down and the present building
erected. He was followed by Odell FISH, W. T.McDOWELL, Estes DENTON,
Jimmie HORTON, Auzie SULLIVAN, Jerry DONALD, Thomas SIMMONS, Joe ANDERSON, Don
HOFFMISTER, Gary WADLEY, Joe HUNT, and Kenny HUNT.
In 1970,
while Joe ANDERSON was pastor, the rest rooms were added. While Kenny HUNT
served as pastor, the church was bricked on the outside, putting in new windows
in 1976, and in 1977 a fellowship hall was added. Hopewell now has
127 members and the present pastor is Roger
GRIFFITH.
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