Peachtree Corners Church is Steeped in History

Mt. Carmel United Methodist Church has been a silent witness to the birth and development of Peachtree Corners. Its brick walls and oak doors have held worshippers with the familiar names of “Ivy,” “Bolton” and “Summerour.”

And the adjacent graveyard is a veritable physical timeline of the growth of this area. A 100-year-old Cherokee stack stone grave lies close to the grave marker of Billings S. Ivy, the first white child born in Atlanta. In this small lot of land there are the buried veterans of every war America has ever fought and ordinary citizens who fought to carve a community from the wild woods and fields, all come to rest by this historic church.

The first Mt. Carmel Methodist Church was made of hewn timber on the current site in 1827. Resident Daniel N. Pittman, not a church-going man but nevertheless a generous one, donated five acres of land to build the church. This structure stood until 1876 when parishioners decided to tear down the old church and rebuild.

The second church building stood for nearly 50 years but in 1925 the congregation found their numbers had grown too large for this structure.

At the time the residents of Peachtree Corners, then called Pinckneyville, were poor farmers trying to eek out a living from soil that would grow precious little. The poverty-stricken parishioners could not afford to finance the building of a new brick church. According to a 1925 article written by Mrs. T.E. Summerour, the church was built largely from donations by Norcross business owners and the hard labor of the members themselves.

In 1999 the church grew again with the building of a new fellowship hall. According to church secretary Suzanne Foster, before the new hall was built the 380-member church would “fall out” of the building when they tried to gather together at one time.

The architecture of the current 1925 church is a model of the principals of the “Arts and Crafts” building movement of the early 20^th century. Inside the modest-sized building, the decor offers richly-colored wainscoting and warmly colored stained glassed windows.

The modest size of the church is what allows a personal touch says Pastor John Huggins and why it has become popular again with residents. According to Huggins the church has grown by 40 members in the last two years, quite a jump from four years earlier when they only grew by 12 members. People dissatisfied with the thousand-member “mega churches” may be the reason for the Mt. Carmel’s growth.

Although Mt. Carmel is steeped in history, Huggins insists it is looking to the future with its twice-annual church barbeque. The church is very active with its dozens of ministries that run the gamut from tutoring children to visiting the elderly. Huggins is also proud of their pre-school that has embraced the multiculturalism of today’s Peachtree Corners.

Mt. Carmel United Methodist, through war, poverty and privitations met the challenges of history and through the determination of its members, has never lost faith.