1969
Buckhorn Methodist Church Timeline
Old Darsey (Dorsey?) Church
Darsey's Meeting House
Buckhorn Methodist Church
about 1820
Methodist circuit riders began to minister to early settlers of the community
Angus
McDonald was sent as a missionary in the
Ohoopee Circuit
this included Laurens County
Methodist convened in the homes for services
first house of worship was built by Seth Darsey
on what was known as the John Lord estate, called Bethsaida
Believed to be the oldest Methodist Church in Laurens County, Ga
1824
Buckhorn Church was organized and meetings
were held in a log cabin near Buckhorn Creek, about a mile east of the
present building site on the old Chicken Road
1824
a Methodist
Society was organized in the area and a log meeting house was built on
the church road
This is the site of the present church
For the first one hundred
years, the church was known as Darsey's Meeting
House and was on the Dexter circuit
Services were held on the third Saturday and Sunday of each month
Many camp meetings were
held on the
grounds with brush arbors being constructed for the preaching services
Until 1830
all Georgia Methodist Churches belonged to the South Carolina Congress
1840s
two middle Georgia conferences were made, the North
Georgia and the South Georgia
The circuits had two preachers. Each preacher had about a dozen churches and preached twice each month at each appointment, preaching every day in the week except Monday
1847
Seth Darsey was the first person to be buried in the cemetery
the only written records date back to
1856
1856
William H. Darsey,
the son of Seth, made a deed of 2 acres of land to the
Methodist
Episcopal Church South
late 1850's
This log building was destroyed by a tornado
replaced by a log
structure which was used until about 1880
1869
J. J. Morgan (pastor)
1870-1871
H. C. Fentriss (pastor)
1872
L. A. Darsey
1873
W. D. Bussey
1874
Daniel G. Pope
1875
J. E. Rorie
W. F. Bearden (1876)
G. B. Walter (1877)
Joseph Langston (1878)
Charlie A. Moore (1879)
1879-1882
Reverend J. D. Anthony, loving known as "Uncle Jimmy,
" or the "Bishop of the Wiregrass"
was presiding elder of the Dublin District.
For more than 50 years he was connected with the South Georgia
Conference and spent most of that time Wiregrass region.
1880s
building of sawn timber was constructed
H. A. Hodges (1880)
F. W. Flander (1881)
Daniel G. Pope (1882-84)
1883
Lorenzo Dow,
one of the most powerful evangelist of the Methodist Society, came
through the section west of the Oconee
ordered by John Wesley, in a vision, to preach to Georgia
frontiersmen
He was a New Englander, who made 2 trips to Georgia, having been converted by
Hope Hull, a pioneer preacher who visited New England
1885
Brunswick District
George M. Prescott (1885)
Daniel G. Pope (1886)
J. G. Cooge (1887)
Gordon F. Roberts (1888)
L. R. Allison (1889)
1890
Eastman District
E. L. Phillips (1890-91)
Daniel G. Pope (1892)
E. L. Phillips (1892)
C. C. Hines (1893-94)
E. M. Wright (1895)
1895
McRae District
Guyton Fisher (1896)
The oldest church register still in existence was written in 1897
66
men and 99 women enrolled
(this register was given to Darren Bryan by Keith Beck
2-2007)
H. C. Fontriss (1897-98)
E. L. Tucker (1899-1900)
M. L. Watkins (1901)
W. O. Davis (1902)
L. A. Snow (1903-04)
1903
The forerunner of the present church house was built consisting of
one room, 30 by 50 feet, with four doors leading to the outside
H. C. Ewing (1905)
L. A. Snow (1905)
J. P. Dickinson (1906)
J. P. Bross (1907)
C. C. Lowe (1908-09)
J. W. Bridges (1910)
S. S. Bridges (1911)
C. S. Bridges (1912-13)
Silas Johnson (1914)
1914
last tent meeting being held
L. E. Brady (1915)
George R. Stephens (1916)
D. S. Smith (1917)
Thomas H. Tinsely (1918-19)
J. C. Griner (1920-21)
H. E. Wells (1922-23)
M. P. Webb (1924)
E. A. Sanders (1925-26)
Ralph Crosby (1927)
J. M. Thompson (1928)
J. S. Willis (1929)
1930
Frank Gilmore (pastor)
1931
S. James Brown (pastor)
1932
R. L. Harris (pastor)
1934
C. J. Mallette (pastor)
1936
O. H. Rhodes (pastor)
1939
C. C. Long (pastor)
1940's
Electricity reached the church
1944
John A. Godfrey (pastor)
1950
L. M. McDuffie (pastor)
1952
C. B. Studstill (pastor)
1956
Clarence Newton (pastor)
1961
Carroll Tinsley (pastor)
1962
W. Eugene Allen (pastor)
1966
William F. Childres (pastor)
1969
1968
Claude E. Croft (pastor)
1970
W. L. Peed (pastor)
1973
Billy Wicker (associate pastor)
Johnny Deas (pastor)
1975
full-time minister
Quay Cook
9-27-1975
First Possum Hollow
1976
180 memebers
1980
Floyd Mitchell (pastor)
1984
Dan Overstreet (pastor)
1985
Charlie Webster (pastor)
1988
John Powell (pastor)
1991
Don Fogal (pastor)
1997
Billy DeMersseman (pastor)
1998
the Buckhorn sanctuary underwent a beautiful interior renovation, with an
enlarged choir loft, chandeliers, and stained-glass windows
2002
Jim Osborne (pastor)
2003
Jimmy Sharp (pastor)
Buckhorn UMC and Cadwell UMC together comprise the Buckhorn Charge in the Dublin District
All records of these early days of the church were destroyed
by fire when the home of Mrs. J. R. Faircloth was burned
(date?)