Paris, Tenn.–Springhill Baptist Church is celebrating its 175th anniversary this weekend with a host of unique activities, including a Little House on the Prairie Lookalike Contest, Most Outrageous Bonnet contest, Men’s Cake Baking contest, outdoor worship with bluegrass hymns, basket dinner, old-fashioned games, and viewing of the hand-hewn logs under the 1870s church.
On Sunday, June 4, church officials said, “The past will be celebrated and the future will be anticipated”. They’ll be celebrating “175 Years of Awesome” at the church, located at 1301 Spring Hill Rd., Paris.
Everyone is invited to bring a lawn chair, wear 1848 type clothing if you want and join them for foods of the 1800’s, such as biscuits, potatoes, turnip greens, sweet potatoes, hominy, pork, fried chicken and cake from the Men’s Cake Baking Contest.
The morning will begin at 10 with Sunday School. Men and boys entering the Men’s Cake Baking contest will enter their cakes in the Family Life Center by 10:15 for judging. At 10:45 the Little House on the Prairie Lookalike contest will begin outside the FLC.
At 10:50 the Most Outrageous Bonnet Contest will be judged inside the FLC. At 11 a.m. the outside worship service will begin with bluegrass style hymns. Joe Ball of Union University will bring the message.
Following the service there will be a Basket Dinner in the FLC. Inside the FLC will be a display of the 1860 minute books, a scrapbook, and old photos. At 12:45 a viewing of the hand hewn logs under the 1870’s church and still being used today under the sanctuary is available. At 1 p.m., old fashioned games for the whole family will begin.
According to long-time member Kay Foust, the Baptist Church of Christ at Spring Hill Meeting House was organized March 11, 1848 with 14 charter members. The group met in homes until 1851 when Uriah Bush built the first log building out of hand hewn timbers. A larger church was built in 1870 and it was remodeled and enlarged in 1912.
In 1947 the 1870 building was torn down and a new block building was built using the same hand hewn log foundation. The 1947 building has been remodeled and enlarged multiple times. A new sanctuary was to be built in 2020 but has been delayed due to circumstances surrounding the worldwide pandemic.
The Sunday morning worship service was moved to the Family Life Center in 2020 to give more room.
Several preachers, youth leaders, church staff and Bible teachers trace their roots back to Springhill Baptist Church. One of the greatest nationally known ministers of the 20th century was Dr. Andy Potter who accepted Christ at 19 in 1905 was baptized at Springhill 1906. Dr. Fred Shackelford served as pastor at Springhill from 2004 through 2013. He was elected President of the Tennessee Baptist Convention while he was the pastor at Springhill. Jeremy O’Neal served as Minister of Music from 2003-2010 and now holds a similar position at Paris First Baptist Church.
Foust noted the church name began as two words (Spring Hill) and the road where it is located is two words. There is no record in the church history of the reason the church is now one word (Springhill) or when it became so.
Foust has been posting old photos from the church history on the Springhill Church’s Facebook page.
Springhill has had a strong missions presence in serving Paris and Henry County over the last 175 years.
