By Walter Hoyle
Liberty Hill Church has had a long and varied history. Meetings began in 1840, but the church was not officially chartered until 1866. According to church records, the first church building was located near the intersection of Penland Road and Rabbit Hop Road. Church minutes indicate that this first building was erected in the 1840’s, twenty years before the outbreak of the Civil War. The building was constructed of logs with no floor in it. Prior to the erection of the first building, the records indicate that some of the people living in the area had attended church services in neighboring communities like Double Island, Bear Creek, Grassy Creek, and the Beaver Creek Church that was located on Chalk Mountain near the Tolley cemetery. Undoubtedly the distance that one had to travel to reach a neighboring church was a factor that led to the establishment of Liberty Hill Church.
During the first few years of its existence, church services seemed to have been conducted in a somewhat informal manner, and during the Civil War years, 1860-1865, there are no records to indicate any services at all. In 1866, Liberty Hill Baptist Church was organized as an arm of Double Island Baptist Church with eighteen charter members. The meeting place was in the small log church that was built in the 1840’s. The following year on September 6, 1867, Liberty Hill was received into the old Roan Mountain Baptist Association at its yearly meeting at Mine Creek Baptist Church. It was represented by the following delegates: A. Buchanan, Ed Cox, A. H. McNeil, and P. Patton.
The establishment of the church in its present location occurred in the year 1897, when a small child, Myrtle Cox, was the first person to be buried in Liberty Hill cemetery. The mother was promised that if she would consent to have the child buried at that spot, a new church building would be erected at the same site. The promise was faithfully kept, and even though the area at that time was heavily wooded, trees were cut and a wooden structure was built on the site. This building served the needs of the church until 1926. By this time the community had grown, and it was decided that a larger church was needed. The new building was a brick structure, and the bricks were in five different shades. Made in kilns in Rutherford County, the many shaded bricks were shipped by train to Spruce Pine and delivered by wagon and mules to the site.
The new building was very costly for that time and required sacrificial giving by all the members. Many people joined together, freely giving of their time and money to see that the project was brought to a successful conclusion. Those who had no money gave of their labor, while others sold farm and dairy products to raise money. This same building with many expansions and renovations is still in use and serving the needs of the congregation. In 2001, another addition of four classrooms and four restrooms was completed. New doors and an entrance ramp were also added, which make the building more accessible. In 2003, the church sold the parsonage and retired the church.
The stained glass windows, which date back to 1926, continue to be the focal point of the church. When they were last appraised twenty-five years ago in 1979, the large front window picturing the Good Shepherd was valued at $12,500.00. Each single stained window was appraised at $1,950.00. Only their beauty surpasses their value. Two annual events are observed at Liberty Hill: Decoration Day, the third Sunday in June, and Homecoming, the last Sunday in August. On these special occasions, we pause to reflect on our rich heritage and the many blessings God has poured out on us over the past 147 years. Many people have contributed faithfully to the Lord’s work during the during the history of our church, and a great number of them now rest in the cemetery, which has over 714 graves. In recognition of their service and sacrifice, this directory is dedicated to their memory.
