Arrowwood Baptist Church History

     Arrowwood Baptist Church History


The first entry in the church minutes states that on March, 26 1843, the eldership of Shiloh met at Arrowwood, sat in conference, and received members E.J. and Mary Steadman by letter. Theophilus Thorne, Sr., Jamica Cudd, Jane Thorne, Sara Smith, and Martha Collins were received April 23, 1843. S.C. Collins was received by experience on April 23, 1843 and was baptized on May 28, 1843. Christena, either a black or an Indian, was received by experience in 1843 baptized on October 22, 1843. Peter Cantrell was received January 27, 1844. One name is missing from the minutes because there were fourteen members when the church was constituted.

     In May of 1843, it was requested that an "arm" be extended from Shiloh Baptist Church to establish a new church. This request was granted on June 25, 1843. This Shiloh Church was located about eight miles away on the north side of Broad River in North Carolina. James Kimmons from Buck Creek, J.M. Webb and William Smith from High Shoals came together and examined the church and its doctrines. the church was constituted February 24, 1844. E.J. Steadman, Peter Cantrell, and Mark Forrest were elected as the first deacons.

     During the first year, a mother and daughter, both named Elizabeth Cantrell, along with Sarah Cantrell, Elizabeth Parris, and James Parris were received. Charles Cantrell, Sarah Giles, and Berryman Cantrell were baptized. James Parris and his wife, Elizabeth were the first members to be granted letters of dismissal. Anna Cudd was the first to be refused membership with no reason given in the minutes. Rev. A. Padgett was called to be the first pastor on January 4, 1845. The church voted on June 22, 1844, to join the Green River Association and elected E.J. Steadman and Peter Cantrell as the first delegates.

The church was originally named Arrowwood because of the nearby Arrowwood Branch. Two legends exist about the name of that branch. The first white man to live in this area is said to have given his name to the branch which ran near his home. The other legend is that Indians named the branch because of special "arrow wood" found near the stream. The church voted in 1853 to change the name to Holly Springs. In 1857, however, the name was changed back to Arrowwood.

The first building was of hewn logs and located two miles west of the present site near the ford in Arrowwood Branch. A second building was dedicated in 1859. In 1906, a committe composed of W.G.P Ezell, Dr. J.E. McKinney, George McBee, Onie Finger, Grace Hicks, Anna Ezell, and Dotie Johnson was elected to raise money for a third building. That building was dedicated in 1908. The fourth and present building was built under the direction of Elford Wall, Marvin Ezell, B.L. Willingham, Boyce Lancaster, Tom Underwood, and Luther Smith. This building was dedicated on November 24, 1968 and was followed by construction of a church Recreation Building. The sanctuary of the church was completely renovated and remodeled in 1991. A new parsonage was also constructed in 1991. The church has since added an additional Sunday School wing with a Children's Church, a Nature Park, and a Playground.