History of Hatton Baptist Church Cemetery which was 1st old Mt Pleasant Baptist Church.
Amos Jarman founded the old brick historical Jarman Plantation home 500 yards across the field south of here sometime earlier than 1820. I am unaware of when he built the current home, but the cotton plantation movement was booming by 1840. The home was built of bricks using some of the same techniques used to build the church facility found here at one time. At his passing Amos was laid to rest in this cemetery along with his wife Mary. Later it is known one of the sons of the early Streit family that moved here lived in this home and more recently the Blythe family lived here.
Amos Jarman, and (I am sure his wife), also aided in organizing a church here in 1822 known as the Pond Creek Baptist Church. Later the name was changed to Mount Pleasant Baptist Church. At about the same time or earlier the Mt Pleasant (later known as Old Brick) Presbyterian Church located just west of here 1/2 mile and their church facility was built. When the Presbyterian's wooden building burned in 1824 they built a new brick church building, completing that in 1828 which remains today. The Presbyterians brick building was patterned after the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church Building once located here. It is thought the Baptist Church stood about where the new part of the cemetery is now located in center of which may be a few feet in back of where the photographer above is standing. The death year of the oldest known stone in the new section of this cemetery is for Sarah Densmore and that stone is well down the slope leaving plenty of room in earlier times for the level area needed for a building site, even if it still stood in 1877. All this indicates the building stood near the road where only a few new graves are found.
The Mt Pleasant Baptist Church burned sometime after the Presbyterian Church was built, and the Baptist Church was relocated to what is today known as Hatton School Community at the Junction of Hwy 184 and Hatton School Road. I presume that was when it was renamed Hatton Baptist Church after that community name. That is about 2 miles southeast of this cemetery. Years later the Cemetery was renamed the Hatton Baptist Church Cemetery to keep the historical connection. Today the cemetery continues to be maintained by the Hatton Baptist Church.
One can view the Old Brick Presbyterian Church facility and see something of how the Mt Pleasant Baptist Church building looked in its time. I am also aware the brick on the Jarman House is about the same color as that of Old Brick Presbyterian Church indicating the use of similar local clays. It is known the clays for Old Brick Presbyterian Church came from the church yard, because a hole was left in the ground to remind us of that. [W Austin 10 Dec 2009.]
Compiled and added here by C. Wayne Austin 12 Dec 2009. I am uncertain of the source of the original historical commentary, but this was compiled from more than one widely known source.
