GUYTON — Effingham County is loaded with noteworthy places but few have achieved the status of New Hope African Methodist Episcopal Church. The 149-year-old structure has been listed on the Interior Department’s National Register of Historic places since 1986.
Needing a place to worship in the wake of the Civil War, former slaves built New Hope on Alexander Street in Guyton. It remains a viable part of the community, having hosted public school graduation ceremonies and club meetings.
Except for a few small additions, the church has changed little over the years.
According to “River to River: The History of Effingham County,” New Hope AME Church was organized on Aug. 4, 1869, and admitted to the Georgia Annual Conference in Macon three months later.
The church was initially guided by the Rev. W.H. Wells and the Right Rev. Alexander Washington Wayman, presiding bishop of the Sixth Episcopal District.
More than four dozen have followed since the church building, made with rough lumber held together by wooden pegs and square nails, was completed in 1885.
It was covered with hand-carved shingles and its walls were plasted with a mixture of hog hair and cement. The pews were carved by hand.
A pot-bellied stove was used to keep the congregation warm.
In the 1920s, the church was wired for electricty.
In the 1970s, New Hope AME Church received a series of improvements, including the painting of interior walls and the addition of paneling in the pulpt/choir area. Central heat and air condition was added in 1985.
The 1990s brought more renovations, including more inside painting and the addition of a secretary’s office, pastor study, choir room, library and two bathrooms.
New Hope AME Church is still growing today.