HISTORY OF MORGAN CHAPEL


The earliest history of Morgan Chapel Free Will Baptist Church in the Backwoods Community is sparse. However, stories, tales and evidence found reveal a colorful picture of the settlers, the growth and the beginning of the church. Long before the "white folks" came, the Cherokee Indians held tribal meetings on one of the highest peaks, and the local folks still talk about the Ash Camp site, where these meetings were to have taken place. No doubt, tents dotted the rolling hills and lush meadows that sustained the Cherokees. This same area would become a flourishing community a century later or more later. The Backwoods Community is situated about 3,900 feet elevation, under the shadow of the Roan Mountain State Park in East Tennessee. Rich with natural resources -- virgin timbers, pristine streams, creeks, and good soil -- the mountain became a haven for new settlers. Soon, the strong, the dedicated and the devout would come -- no place for the "faint-of-heart"! From the early wars and after 1800, soldiers and frontiersmen were given land grants in payment for "services rendered" on forging a nation. People came. The needs grew. A church, a school, a "meeting house" were to follow. Just in front of where the church sits today, a huge oak tree stood, and underneath those sprawling branches, rough benches were made and set in orderly fashion. And "all things will be done in decency and in order!" And so it was -- even when it came for "cleansing" or "repentance" of an ole' mountaineer for brewing his moonshine! The "good saints" would open and close all meetings with prayer. Dressed in their "Sunday best," families would walk, sit proudly on wagons or ride horseback down creek beds and over rough paths to worship, make polices or community decisions. Acapella singing rang out in worship services, and shouting and hallelujahs were a demonstration of joy and fellowship. Ministers didn't need a microphone! Family and community ties seemed to be sealed with "dinner on the ground," after Sunday School, and all were in "fellowship with God and man." But enough cold rains, blowing snows and illnesses from exposure. A frail, but beautiful and thrifty young lady, Elizabeth Morgan, stepped forward and offered one acre of land, "more or less," under the oak tree, to build a church. On November 28, 1891, Elizabeth offered her signature, an "X," witnessed and recorded at the Carter County Court House in Elizabethton, Tennessee, on December 14, 1891. Thus, the name "Morgan" Chapel Church. An exact date when the log church was built is not known. However, it seems only reasonable that construction began in and during the spring or summer of 1892. It served the community well as the church, and it was also used as a school until about 1924, and was known as Backwood School. Records were few or may have been lost in the early years. A 1903 Toe River Association record shows a membership of 74. Services were held in the log church until 1961, when a new brick church was built. On July 31, 1971, another 0.05 acre was sold to Morgan Chapel by Willard and Myrtle Elliott for the sum of $10.00 and recorded at the Carter County Court House in Elizabethton, Tennessee, November 3, 1971. This area provided a driveway around the church. Lanterns, candles, lamps and a "pot belly" stove are things of the past. Still a small congregation, devout and dedicated, can look forward and appreciate the humble beginning of a small country church. Written by: Mrs. Ruth Orr