178 years marked for historic Baptist church
The historic Elm Grove Baptist Church at Pine Bluff turned 178 years old in August, according to the pastor, the Rev. Jesse Turner.
“The year was 1843 that slaves living on the Johnson Plantation in the Richland Township, Noble Lake and Cottondale area, were granted permission to organize a Baptist Church. Elm trees were plenteous on the front lawn where the church would be built, thus, the origin of the name Elm Grove,” according to a news release on its history.
An online record revealed an 1860 Census from Jefferson County which listed all slaveholders at that time and records. Robt.
zJohnson was the owner of 64 slaves in the Richland Township which is the Noble Lake Cottondale area.
Ora Foster-Roby, 94, of Kansas City, and the late Arlease Walker, who died in 2015 at 101 years old, once recalled the history of the church.
“There were two plantations in this area, the Johnson and Couch Plantations with Highway 65 South serving as the dividing line for both plantations.
The Johnson Plantation, where Elm Grove Baptist Church was organized was north of Highway 65, and the Couch Plantation was south of Highway 65,” according to Foster-Roby and Walker.
“This writer believes the African Americans and slaves from the Couch Plantation attended the church,” the news release read. “Elm Grove Baptist Church would become the first organized Baptist Church for African Americans and slaves in Arkansas. Following every revival, all new converts at Elm Grove Baptist Church were baptized in Noble Lake. Sister Idella Hunter, a devoted member of Elm Grove Baptist Church, led a fundraising effort to purchase the first and only church bell by selling apples for five cents on Sundays and through the week to secure enough money to purchase the bell.”
Under Turner’s leadership, the 400 Years of African American History Commission selected Elm Grove as the lead church to ring its their historic bell at midnight on June 19, 2019 — Juneteenth.
The bell would ring 20 times to represent the first 20 enslaved Africans arriving in 1619 at Point Comfort, Va., and one time for the odd, according to the release.
The ringing of the bell set in motion a worldwide event called “Let’s Talk, Let’s Heal, the International Day of Drumming and Healing.”
The event placed Elm Grove’s involvement in the United States National Archives. Members of Elm Grove transported the bell from the Richland Township to its present location in front of the church at 3114 S. Mississippi St.
“This writer believes the African Americans and slaves on the Johnson Plantation never imagined their descendants would play such a prominent role in the history of Africans in America. In 2020, the Iconic Bell rang again for the late John R. Lewis, U.S. Representative from Georgia’s 5th District and Civil Rights leader,” the news release states.
A cornerstone was laid by the Elm Grove church in 1914.
On April 1, 1939, a tornado developed in the Noble Lake Cottondale area. Elm Grove collapsed from the force of the high winds. The membership and community friends helped rebuild the church and worship resumed.
Elm Grove also served as a public school for the Noble Lake and Cottondale area until 1947, according to Pine Bluff School District records.
In 1965, family members of Elm Grove moved from the Richland Township and settled the church at their present location where they continue to congregate.
After Elm Grove relocated to Pine Bluff, Taylor Lake, located southeast of the church, was utilized for baptizing new converts for a brief period. Sept. 3, 1995, the church decided to move from two Sundays a month to full-time service under the leadership of Turner.
In August 1999, Mr. and Mrs. Henri Pote, friends of Turner, delivered an organ to the church, donated by Mr. and Mrs. Mike Rose of Garland, Texas.
Former leaders of Elm Grove included pastors Joe Dismon, Frank O’Bryant, L.C. Culliver, D.D. Dent, Mancy Ferguson, J.L. Frazier, J.L. Lawson, I.S. Bryant and David D. Walker.
Turner has served as the pastor since 1994.
Contributors to this historical account include Ora Foster-Roby, Johnnie Taylor, Arlease Walker, Willie Perkins, Marie Franklin, O. T. Lawson, Elimuel Dolls Sr., Hill Burnett, Earnest Hunter (son of Idella Hunter); Helen McGhee, the Rev. David D. Walker, Pine Bluff School District rural and other small schools; Pine Bluff Daily Graphic Newspaper; and 2017 the Star City Branch Library Hobby Genealogy Group.