Stella Church of Christ

We a looking at what was at one time the Church of Christ but later was used by others. The facility is no longer in use.. If you know of any history on this church please let this site administrator know and we can post it here. It is located on the west side of the road in Stella just before one gets to the crossroads. David Norwood's father preached her some in the 1940s/1950s.

Stella Church of Christ (history of) - Stella, Giles County, Tennessee

In the late 1920�s a tract of land in Stella was deeded for the establishment of a Church of Christ meeting place by Bob and Bertha Hazelwood (How are they related to Bob and Birdie shown below)? The congregation first met in an old store building where planks were placed on barrels for seating. The barrels were probably nail kegs.



John David and Lorena M. "Rena" Beard Tucker donated the lumber to build the meeting house. The building. including the smooth slat pews, was built by the members of the congregation. The first services were held about 1930. Baptisms were held in Shoal Creek that flowed behind the building. A long table was constructed between the building and the creek to place food on for special events such as all day singing and dinner on the grounds.

Some of the preachers that preached at the Stella Church of Christ over the years were:
J. T. Harris
Tom Campbell
G. B. Derryberry
George Williams
Don Osborne
Unknown Love
D. B. Noles
Claude Thomas
M. F. Norwood, Jr.
Tom Holland (later moved on to the Creive Hall Congregation, Nashville, Tn. (over 1,500 members & stayed there 20+ years)
Ted Kell
Richard Durham
Adrian �Junior� Merritt

Some of the families that made up this congregation over a span of 60 years were:

Alsup, Charlie W and Selma G Pigg Alsup
Alsup, David??
Alsup, Judy??

Barnett, Winfred and Donna Jackson Barnett

Campbell, Otis and Willa Dean Surles Campbell
Campbell, Terry Campbell

Davis, Reba Mobley
Davis, Don??

Dawes, Willie and Mary Eleanor Hanna Dawes
Dawes, James Alton Dawes, Sr.

Dawes, Villard Clyde and Clara M. Hanna Dawes
Dawes, Tillman and Mivian Barnes Dawes and daughter Jill Dawes

Edmundson, Harold S and Emily (Emmie McConnico)?? Edmondson

Gooch, Alma May Kerr
Gooch, Sarah Helen
Gooch, Mozell
Gooch, William Fagan

Graves, Annie Lois Pigg

Hanna, Gilmer and Effie M. Dawes Hanna
Hanna, Joseph Fred Hanna
Hanna, James Bertrand

Hazelwood, Bob and Maggie Otilda (Birdie) Tucker Hazelwood.
Hazelwood, Carson
Hazelwood, Grady

Hendrick, Charles Dean and Sara Elizabeth Eubank Hendrick
Hendrick, Dean
Hendrick, Scott
Hendrick, Erls

Jackson, Woodrow and Lois Tucker Jackson

Jackson, Julia Ann Stovall
Jackson, Christine

Jackson, Joseph Luster and Annie Doris Appleton Jackson
Jackson, Beverly Jackson
Jackson, Joseph T �Tommy�

Jackson, Mary Ruth Dawes Jackson
Jackson, Frank "Buddy"

Jones, Mahlon and Ruby Wilkerson Jones
Jones, James Marvin
Jones, Joe

Jones, Thurman and Etha Crabb Jones
Jones, Robert Dean Jones
Jones, Joyce Gayle (Gail)?? Webb

Kimbrough, Mahlon and Mildred Hazelwood Kimbrough

Locke, Ones (check spelling) Elmore
Locke, Lois

Merritt, Adrian R and Allie Lee Reagin Merritt
Merritt, James Adrian "Junior" Merritt and Dorothy Turner Merritt
Merritt, Leona Kandt ?? (she was Junior�s first wife)
Merritt, John Marvin "Buddy" Merritt and Mabel Boyd Merritt
Merritt, Clair Dean

Mitchell, William Hershel and Ethel Tucker Mitchell
Mitchell, John David
Mitchell,??, Laura Nell Tucker (or was she a single person)??

Pigg, Jim (is this James T husband of Amber Boyd)??

Surles, Rupert Elmo "Skinner" and Rosa Mae Beard Surles

Tucker, John David and Lorena M �Rena� Beard Tucker
Tucker, David A.
Tucker, Sarah

Walls, Elbert Walls and Marie Graves Walls

Wells, W Clyde and Bertha Wells
Wells, Bertha Mae??
Wells, Son (perhaps it was Clyde Wells)??

Homecoming was always celebrated on the second Sunday in June. After the worship service, a feast was enjoyed, followed by an afternoon of a cappella singing. Just as soon as Amen was said at the end of the worship service, the ladies headed out the door to load the long table with their own special recipes. Soon the rest of the congregation followed after which the blessing was offered. The women then stood guard with dish towels waving off those pesky flies and steering us toward their special treats.

Very few items were store bought. Most of the food was made from scratch. There must have been at least 8 to 10 bowls of potato salad, all the fried chicken you could want, well seasoned beans and peas of every variety, and baked sweet potatoes covered with marshmallows. Besides all the fried chicken, there was plenty of roast beef, ham, fried fatback, sometimes some streak-o-lean, and someone always brought some form of goat. An abundance of yeast rolls, cornbread and biscuits were the bread choices. At the end of the table there was a huge selection of desserts waiting to be explored. The homemade pies and cakes looked like entries for the Tennessee State Fair. Each one looked like a Blue Ribbon Winner to me. Two things I always looked for was the banana pudding and fried pies. I always grabbed a fried pie or two and hid it in the car for a snack after the singing. The choices were a little of this and some of that and a smidgen or two of the rest.

Other homemade items placed randomly over the table were bread and butter pickles, sweet pickle relish, chow chow, dill pickles, and some hot peppers. The exceptions to the made from scratch rule would have been soft drinks for the kids, a few loaves of bread for sandwiches, stuffed olives and sweet gherkins, and of course the condiments.

For refreshments the # 2 washtub was full of soft drinks and iced down enough for us to want more than one. There must have been 15 gallons of sweet tea and a few gallons of lemonade.

After everyone had had their fill of delicious food and the tables cleared, we headed back into the building for an afternoon of a cappella singing. The hills and hollows around Stella must have been spiritually lifted because the rafters of the little building on Shoal Creek literally shook to the four part harmony for the next two hours.

The wedding on June 18th, 1971 of Donna Jackson to Winfred Barnett may have been the last wedding in the building.

Sadly, the Stella Church of Christ no longer meets. The numbers dwindled as families moved away or passed on to meet their Maker. The property has been deeded back to the Hazelwood family as was stated in the original deed. Only the memories remain. Whether it was feasting on food or Feasting on the Word of God, the love and fellowship that we experienced at the Little White Church on Shoal Creek in Stella, Tennessee, was second to none this side of Heaven.

I�m sure each one of us would love to go back to those events that I recall from over 60 years ago.

Special thanks to Tillman Dawes, Robert Dean Jones, and Donna Jackson Barnett for helping me sort all of this out.

By David Norwood (Son of M. F. Norwood Jr. & Inez Bullington Norwood) Editing by Maryilyn Kerr Hare, added here 9 Apr 2011.