CONCORD CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Concord Cumberland Presbyterian Church was located seven miles from Columbia on land presently owned by Monsanto Chemical Company in the 1980s (I am not sure who owns it today CWA 2012)

Nothing remains today to mark this hallowed spot except a cemetery (Concord). According to an article in The Nashville Tennessean, March 28, 1948, the church was destroyed by a tornado.

Prior to 1830, the residents of the area south of Robert�s Bend held camp meetings and probably met in a cabin in that area. In 1831, an acre of land was deeded to trustees for the purpose of erecting �Concord Meetinghouse.� Early members of the church included the Peter Joyce, Wm. J. Jennings, Nat Young, Wm. B. Butler, Rev. J. B. Porter, Ashley Hill, John Baird, and other families.

The Concord congregation was organized about 1830 after camp meetings were held in the area. This group of worshippers was led by the famous Reverend James Brown Porter who began to hold regular meetings at Concord. The land calls locate this church as being on the west side of Green Lick Creek.
In 1831 William Jennings deeded to trustees William J. Jennings, William B. Butler, Nathaniel Young and Peter Joyce one acre of land, "for a house for the Public worship of the living God." (Deed Book 0, Vol. 1, p. 463, 17 June 1831). At this time there may have already been a building of some kind for public worship since the land calls mentioned "Concord meetinghouse."

Names of some of the earliest members of this church were Gray, Dooley, Joyce, Baird and Hill. Early pastors included George W. Mitchell, Elishu Kirkpatrick, T. Jeff Dixon, and J. N. Edmiston. Later ministers were Robert Whitaker, Sam Polk, J. Tyler, Andrew Baker & W. A. Provine.

In 1868 a new church was built. There was a strong membership here at that time. During the middle years Ashley Hill, E. P. Parsons and J. W. Trousdale were Ruling Elders. The Rev. R. F. Jennings (1848-1876), a member of Concord Church was ordained to the ministry in 1872 by Richland Presbytery.

After the Civil War, a new building was built that remained in use until the church was abandoned as members sold their properties to phosphate mining companies and moved away from the area. The Monsanto Co. acquired most of this property and built perhaps one of Maury County�s largest industrial plants, just a few hundred yards from the old church building. This plant closed down in the 1980�s and most of the installations were dismantled.

The earliest marked grave in the cemetery at Concord is that of a child, Nellie Gray, who died December 12, 1842. Two men who gave their lives to the Confederate cause have monuments here William H. Moore who died a prisoner of war in Chicago and J. B. Applewhite, Jr. who died March 8, 1863.

Transcribed from the book Churches of Maury County Tennessee before 1860 by C. Wayne Austin as written on pages 71 and 72 by Mrs. Marvin Kinnard. This was integrated with other writings concerning this church to produce this document.