Welcome to the Myrtle Baptist Church history page. We are especially excited to have you visit as we enter a year of celebration leading up to our 150th anniversary which we will mark on October 27, 2024. We invite you to read our church history here and browse our growing digital archive containing photographs, documents and records, funeral programs, and documentaries and oral histories.
If you have items that you believe would make good additions to our digital archive, or if you have additional information or corrections related to information already in the archive, please contact myrtlebaptist(at)gmail.com and someone will get back to you.
Below you will find images of the people, places and things connected to Myrtle and to the community around it over the years.
After months of work beginning in 2013, the Myrtle History Committee unveiled the Myrtle History Museum on March 9, 2014. This first phase of the museum focuses on the church and its pastors from its founding in1874 thru 1919. The first set of photographs depicts the Committee preparing the museum. The second set is comprised of photos of ten conversation panels that are the heart of the museum. The third set is comprised of photos of the service before the unveiling and of visitors enjoying the unveiling.
Click on the first image in each set to enlarge the images and click through.
Below you will find unpublished papers and other documents mostly belonging to the church, and to a lesser extent, to organizations and individuals connected to the church and the community around it.
Below you will find a collection of funeral programs that record the lives and funerals of Myrtle members, their families and loved ones. These programs contain mini-histories that include personal information including birth and death dates, maiden names, names of relatives, education, work history, church and organizational affiliations, past residences and place of burial. Obituaries offer information about large trends within our church and larger communities and insight into various time periods, making them important not only to genealogical research, but to local history as well.
Click on an image below to view the full program.
Video and audio recordings of individuals sharing unique insights into the history of Myrtle and the history of the community around it.
Newton Talks Oral History: An interview with Howard and Katy Haywood
The documentary tells the story of Myrtle and the community-"The Village”-that it was the center of. It is introduced by Myrtle member Quinton Robinson and includes commentary from several Myrtle members and clips depicting church life.