MISSIONS at the oldest church in Polk County
Friendship Baptist Church located in present-day Delano is Polk County’s oldest church in continuous operation – 1826-2026!
The following accounts are recorded by Lynne McClary from the Polk County Chamber of Commerce.
Started just 7 years after the Indian removal in the Hiwassee Cession of 1819, Friendship was near what was then known as Columbus. In June 1826, 10 men and women met in Brother Wilkerson’s home north of Coe Cemetery to organize a church. An ordination service was held July 1826 with members from Eastannallee Church.
Until December 1826, services were in the Wilkerson and Funkhouser homes. At which time a simple log church was built across the road from the present building. A cornerstone still remains of the original building. In 1819, land north of the Hiwassee was ceded to the US by the Cherokee, while the land south of the river to the GA line was not given up until 1838, meaning Friendship was established in free territory 12 years before the rest of present-day Polk County was even US Territory.
A frame church was built in 1856 north of the current building. Raised soil marks that site today. Calvin Denton pastored there 40 years, but little is known about Friendship through the Civil War due to loss of records.
In the late 1800s to early 1900s the building was used as a school until the county could build one. A box dinner was held to raise money for a bell, used for both the school and church. This bell is the only remaining item from the school and it’s located in the belfry of the current church.
The current building was built in 1908, and Friendship’s 100th year was celebrated in 1926 with an all-day singing and history from JD Clemmer. During the celebration a group of Ku Klux Klan marched out of the woods in capes and hoods, went up one aisle, out the other door, and back into the woods, after which the celebration ended.
Friendship Church is an integral part of Polk County history, and future. There’s even a time capsule packed in 1976 scheduled be opened during 2026’s Homecoming.
In 1850 William Forest was licensed to be a Baptist minister ; he was ordained by the Friendship Baptist Church in Delano , Tennessee— where his father – in – law , Samuel Short , had been the first pastor– in 1857
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FRIENDSHIP BAPTIST CHURCH POLK COUNTY, TENNESSEE |
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| Friendship Baptist Church was established June 8, 1826, only seven years after the Indians were removed from the area under the Hiwassee Cession of 1819.That makes Friendship the oldest church in what is now known as Polk Co., Tn. Below is a list of the available names of Pastors and Church Clerks from 1826 to 1975. | ||
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PASTORS |
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| 1826- Samuel Short 1844- William Forest 1846- B. W. Buford 1849- C. Hoil, E. Newton, & J. Scarbrough 1850- Calvin Denton 1884- H. C. Cook 1888- C. H. Eaton 1889- J. R. Lawrence 1890- J. P. Fore 1891- Luke Shamblin 1893- W. H. Rhymer 1897- R. J. Womac 1903- J. M. Townsley |
1905- P. A. Miller 1906- J. W. Townsend 1912- S. R. Creasman 1915- J. M. Townsend 1917- H. K. Watson 1923- B. P. Kincaid 1924- J. D. Chastain 1925- Roy Thomas 1926- J. W. Townsend 1928- H.W. Passmore, Claude Green 1931- Will Shamblin 1938- M. C. Ledford 1940- C. Doyle Doss |
1945- W. G. Smiley 1946- Charlie Helton 1948- B. P. Kincaid 1949- C. R. Green 1953- Herman Matthews 1954- M. D. Berry 1956- Willie Choat 1960- Hobson Gregg 1965- Don Wilson 1968- Wayne Cooper 1969- Jimmy Hutton 1972- Garvin Chastain 1975- Jack Nunley |
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Church Clerks |
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| 1826- John M. Neal 1835- Edward Frather 1836- James Morris * 1879- W. C. Hatcher 1885- G. H. Burns 1885- W. C. Hatcher 1901- Mellie Hatcher Pennell 1910- W. F. Burris |
1911- A. J. Painter 1913- A. C. Howard 1919- Lee Blackwell 1923- E. S. Carruth 1926- James Mose 1929- Haden C. Davis 1939- Martha Watkins 1940- Hershell Davis |
1946- Ulysses Coe 1957- Maxine Eaves 1958- Barbara Lance 1960- Helen Allen 1961- Haroldean Wiggins 1966- Samantha Davis 1973- Wanda Carter |
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Cemetery Listings |
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Go to Section A Part 1 Go to Section A Part 2
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*Some names are missing due to lost Church records. The information below came from a booklet titled” 150 Years Of Friendship”, by Terry Blair, Wanda Carter, Johnny Coe, and Deborah Williams. The booklet was handed out to to the congregation of Friendship at the July 4th Homecoming, a celebration of the 150th year, in 1976. Thanks to Connie Baumann for supplying this information!
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