Habersham UMC - Northeast
History
The first church to serve the Habersham area was erected in the late 1700s or early 1800s. This church was known as Olive Branch Church. In 1840, a new church was built .25 miles east of the present site. The church served as a place of worship for planters and slaves until 1860, when sixty acres of land was donated for a new church and cemetery by Rile W. Reeves. In 1864, the church was completed, after construction was halted by the Civil War, and named Habersham. During the next eighty-five years, fifty-seven different pastors served this church, oftentimes paid for with livestock and vegetables.
In March 1949, Habersham Church burned to the ground but the newly rebuilt church was dedicated in April 1953, under the direction of Rev. Jimmy Varnell and laymen Claude Sullivan with Bishop Arthur J. Moore officiating. In 1952, Gloria and Leonard Hawes gave a parcel of land for the building site for a parsonage and Rev. Jody Robertson was the first pastor to move in. In the early 1960s, a social hall with kitchen and dining area, and two Sunday school classrooms were built near the church. In 1970, Habersham and Fairhaven came together as a charge and Brother Clyde Harvard served the charge from 1978-1980.
In March 1949, Habersham Church burned to the ground but the newly rebuilt church was dedicated in April 1953, under the direction of Rev. Jimmy Varnell and laymen Claude Sullivan with Bishop Arthur J. Moore officiating. In 1952, Gloria and Leonard Hawes gave a parcel of land for the building site for a parsonage and Rev. Jody Robertson was the first pastor to move in. In the early 1960s, a social hall with kitchen and dining area, and two Sunday school classrooms were built near the church. In 1970, Habersham and Fairhaven came together as a charge and Brother Clyde Harvard served the charge from 1978-1980.
Location
2060 Habersham Church Road
Perkins GA
30822