Anchors of Faith: Early Wooden Churches of the Deep South

Reflecting times of untrammeled faith and religious values, Martha Dickson’s Anchors of Faith gives a pictorial overview of 145 mostly late-nineteenth-century wooden churches located in southern Alabama, Mississippi, and throughout Florida. The churches featured, which span over a hundred years of history, embody the indomitable religious spirit of their builders. Anchors of Faith is more than just a pictorial encyclopedia, however. The author’s descriptions and photos provide detailed information about both the architecture of these houses of worship and the related history, from the founding of these institutions to their current state.

Among the jewels featured in Anchors of Faith, Dickson traces the Presbyterian Church of Union Church, Mississippi all the way back to its Gaelic-speaking Scottish Presbyterian immigrants from North Carolina. The author tells the story of the modest start of the East Hill Baptist Church Chapel in Tallahassee, whose congregation formed itself by meeting in one another’s houses due to World War II. The distinctive details of the unusual ＂house of cards＂-like facade of Hatchechubbee United Methodist Church in Hatchechubbee, Alabama, and the Carpenter Gothic style of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Merritt Island, Florida reveal the architectural uniqueness of some Southern places of worship.

From Greek Revival to Victorian Gothic, Dickson helps add to the understanding of religious faith in the rural South through the architecture and history of its many surviving wooden churches.

MARTHA LEE DICKSON is a graduate of Howard College (now Samford University). She has worked for Howard College, Florida State University, and Pensacola State College. She has also served in several church-related paid and volunteer positions. She is the author of Gordon, Alabama: Pioneer Riverboat Town and Shorelights, a devotional book.