Antioch Baptist Church
Antioch Baptist Church
The Antioch Baptist Church was founded in 1818, and is the second oldest church in Montgomery County. James McLemore and his brothers moved to the Mount Meigs area from Jones County, Georgia, and he immediately started the new congregation at Antioch. The original location is just north of Interstate 85, but today only the old cemetery remains on that site. The congregation moved to a new site adjacent to the Peoples Village School in 1919. That building has been expanded and renovated numerous times over the years, and is still the congregation's home today. The next set of photos show the church building and its historical marker, as well a map showing the church's location.
“Antioch Baptist Church
Mount Meigs, Alabama
Organized on June 5, 1818, the Antioch Baptist Church at Mt. Meigs was the first church of any denomination established in Montgomery County. Rev. James McLemore was its founder and first pastor. Antioch, like most churches in the county, had both white and black members before the Civil War and Reconstruction era. Antioch was officially incorporated in May of 1911 under a 9-man board of trustees. In 1919, the Antioch congregation built a new church building on land adjoining the Peoples Village School using material from the old church building; it was bricked and rededicated in 1980. In 1989, classrooms and a fellowship hall were added and a larger sanctuary with a capacity for 1,500 worshipers followed in 1999. The public road leading to the church is designated “Antioch Lane” in recognition of the role Antioch has played in the surrounding communities.”
The next two photos show the Old Antioch Cemetery, and the final map show its location.
