Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church - BW 1

Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church... more

by Stephen Stookey

Title

Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church - BW 1

Artist

Stephen Stookey

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church
Great Smoky Mountain National Park

Baptist presence in Cades Cove is credited to John and Lurena (Frazier) Oliver, the first white settlers in the area (1818). With now Baptist church in the cove, settlers were forced to travel to Miller's Cove or Wears Cove for services. The Olivers established Baptist work in Cades Cove in 1827, as an arm of Wears Cove Baptist Church. Two years later Cades Cove Baptist Church was constituted (19 June 1829). Within a few years the fledgling congregation became embroiled in divisive debates among Baptists over the biblical mandate (or not) for mission work and other ministries. The church split when the pastor and a few members were dismissed for support of missionary work, societies, and Sunday School. Those dismissed organized Cades Cove Missionary Baptist Church. The original congregation added 'Primitive' to its name so as to identify its beliefs to Baptists moving to the area.

The current frame church, built in 1887, replaced the congregation's earlier log structure. Services were suspended in the 1960s. The simple sanctuary offers a glimpse into the austere, informal worship of early Primitive Baptists. Many of Cades Cove's earliest settlers are buried in the church cemetery.

Cades Cove is a popular attraction within Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The park is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Uploaded

May 29th, 2015