Mount Calvary Church was founded about 1806. The need for a “gathering place” for the worship of God resulted from the frontier men and women (mostly of Scotch-Irish heritage) who were passionate for hearing the word, conversions, and a place for baptisms, marriages, and burials. This was a log building across the road from the present site.
The Second Great Awakening began between 1800 – 1804 in Southern Kentucky. Exhorters and lay preachers were sent from the Old Cumberland Presbytery into several surrounding states including the territory of Alabama. One of these men, Benjamin Lockhart, is known to have lived in Clayton’s Cove prior to 1822.
The formation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church as a separate denomination occurred in Dickson, Tennessee on February 4, 1810. James L. Sloss, the first ordained and seminary-trained man, came through the Alabama Territory in 1817; he reported back to the Synod of North Carolina / South Carolina that “have found a man named Mr. Newton at Canoe Creek trying with help to hold a gathering together. The man is not a minister but has been in the area about six to eight years. Found him so weak and decrepit physically that he can hardly do any work.” Canoe Creek has its beginnings from the spring located (where Lake Zamora is now) behind Mt. Calvary Church. He also reported “dense woodlands and mountains, very sparse settlements connected by narrow trails, raging and wide rivers, and the area crawling with snakes, wild animals, and Creek Indians.”
From 1813 – 1814, the Creek Indian War was fought in East and South Alabama. Alabama became a state in 1819.
Benjamin Lockhart of Clayton’s Cove helped Mt. Calvary become established as a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in March 1823.
Jesse Taylor, 1795 – 1860, and wife Catherine Holt Taylor, 1796 – 1877, came from Columbia, Tennessee in the early 19th century. He was a Cumberland Presbyterian minister / farmer and settled in this area. He was the minister for many years, possibly the first of the established church. They reared twelve children, of whom one served as pastor, Thorny B. Taylor. A grandson, R. Pate Taylor, also served the church two different times. On February 15, 1856, Jesse Taylor, “for the affection and regard I have for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church at Mt. Calvary in the State and County aforesaid have released and by this deed by convey unto the said church a tract of land including the meeting house and graveyard…” About this time a frame structure was built on the present site. Possibly there could have been two log buildings prior to this.
The War Between the States of 1861 – 1865 divided not only the states but also the Presbyteries of the churches between the north and the south. In 1906 two-thirds of the Cumberland voted to reunite with Presbyterian Church USA. Mt. Calvary joined around 1907 -1911.
The church burned on a Sunday afternoon in 1925. The church building, our present stone sanctuary, was rebuilt shortly thereafter.
In 1981, Mt. Calvary united with the Presbyterian Church in America.
Because the church records have burned twice, specific dates, names, and information are missing. Research is continuing and hopefully a more complete history will be written.
The major events of the two past centuries – revivals, disease epidemics, wars, and the Great Depression – have all affected Mt. Calvary and the area first called Ayres. Thankfully our ancestors felt the need of worshiping and as a result the word has continued to be preached by many ministers and God’s name has been praised by many members.
References will be given on request.
Fay Crawford, February 2000