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Vienna First Baptist Church

Corner of Fourth and Church Street
229-268-4386

History:

In 1830 at Beulah Church in Macon County, with Rev. John McKenzie as pastor, the Houston Baptist Association was organized.  Mount Beazer was a charter member from Dooly County.  Mount Beazer appeared on the association rolls every year until 1840.  In 1839, Mount Beazer was represented by Benjamin Culpepper and Charles h. Higdon.  In 1840 there was no mention of Mount Beazer, but the name Providence was on the roll from Dooly County and was represented by the same two men.

In August of 1852, the Baptist Church known as Providence resolved in her conference to renew said church at Vienna by building a new church and appointed James S. Bealle, Thomas H. Dawson, and Z. T. Timmons to act as a building committee and also to collect funds to erect the new building.  Most of the contributions were small - five dollars and under.  A total of $775.16 was raised in this manner.  Many of the donors' names are still family names in Dooly County.

At the June term of court in 1853, the Justices of the Inferior Court ordered Robert B. Davies, clerk, to execute titles to James S. Bealle and John J. Collier to the lot between the Academy lot and Meriwether's lot for a Baptist church.  The new building for Providence Church was erected on this lot and finished in 1856.  Tradition has it that the bell in the church was donated at the cost of $900.00 by James S. Bealle, and it is one of the few bells that was not melted down for war purposes during the Civil War.

In 1890, the name Providence was changed to First Baptist Church of Vienna.  About five years later the members started talking of a new church building.  In 1909, under the leadership of Rev. R. W. Eubanks, a brick church was erected on the same site.  Between the years of 1920 and 1922 the Sunday School Annex was added and the church remodeled.  Thus the church remained until about 1950 when extensive renewal of the church was begun and lasted until 1960 when George Chapel was completed.