History of Georgia Plain Baptist Church & JMMY Center

Researched by Colin Conger

Georgia/Vermont

Native American artifacts found near Lamoille river date back to 800-1600 AD.1
August 17th, 1763: Georgia charter issued
1777: Vermont declares its independence from everyone, becomes a “Republic” until 1791.
William Farrand was the first settler to winter in Georgia in 1785, most likely along the Lamoille river near where Route 104A is today.
First framed house built 1787, on the lake shore near the corner of the Polly Hubbard Road.
First Town Meeting held in 1788.
In 1790, Georgia population quickly expanded to 340; larger than Burlington and St Albans at that time (1800: 1068 population).
Vermont became the 14th state in 1791.

Early Baptists in Georgia

1788 - Town of Georgia organized/held its first town meeting (was settled in 1785).
Georgia was a “wilderness area” at that time with no roads. Travel was on trails using marked trees.
1788 - Benjamin and Stephen Holmes and their wives became the first Baptists to settle in Georgia.l
July 4th, 1792 - The first Baptist meeting was held in Georgia at the house of Abraham Hathaway (House located south of Georgia Center - possibly in East Georgia). The Lamoille river was used as a mode of transportation as well as a trail marker.
July 12th, 1792 - Articles of Faith and rules of order were written by the members of the Baptist group members.
August 23rd, 1793 - The above Articles of Faith & Rules were formerly adopted by founding members.
October 21st, 1793 - The Baptist church was formally organized at the home of Benjamin Holmes. There were 17 founding members, 13 men and four ladies.
The Congregational Church in Georgia Center was also organized in 1793.

1807 - Reverend Roswell Mears became the first Pastor. Reverend Mears was a sailor from Connecticut. He came to the area to preach the gospel while still wearing his sailors clothing from the sea.
1807 - Baptists claim usage of space in the “Old White Meeting House” in Georgia Center. Congregationalists resisted, but finally
compromised, with each sharing space in the building.
The Baptists were allowed use of the space on every 3rd Sunday until 1827.
1815 - 1816 - 60 new members were added to the church. The widespread famine in Vermont at that time may have contributed toward the membership increase. The year of 1816 was also known as the year without summer. There were six inches of snow in June as well as a hard frost every month.
1816 - Rev. Mears baptized four young men in the Lamoille river after the ice had been chopped away. One of these men was Alvah Sabin, his son-in-law.
1828 - Alvah Sabin became pastor of the Georgia Baptist Church. He held this position intermittently through 1877.

Rev. Roswell Mears - Georgia Plain Cemetery

The early 1800s involved much church discipline and many “church trials,” i.e. neglecting church meetings, failing to keep agreements in business transactions, and embracing false doctrines.
1820 - 1822 - Much discussion about whether it was right, according to scripture, to give acceptance to theological seminary trained leaders.
1820 - the church voted it was not right, and on July 11th, 1821, Benjamin Abel was summoned to a trial because he had fellow-shipped with Joseph Ballard and Alvah Sabin, both of whom had studied at theological school.
On January 4th, 1822, the church voted to drop all discussions regarding whether or not it was right for a minister to have a theological education.
1826 - Georgia built a new school, and the Baptist Church voted to add a room on the second floor. The “Old White Meeting House” was deemed too large. The Baptists worshiped in the new school until 1847.
1846 - the church voted to build a new building in Georgia Plains, due to the school being too far from the majority of the church members who resided in the southwest corner of town.

Georgia Plain Baptist Church

1830 - 1840 - Georgia Baptist Church passed resolutions against Free Masonry and slavery.
1846 - 1847 - A new brick church building and parsonage were erected. The Plains area was a hub of activity in the southwest corner of town at this time.
1847 - The original baptist church in Georgia Plain was dedicated.
1849 - Church membership rose to 123 before declining to 50 by 1863 (Civil War). The town’s population in 1850 was 2680, and in 1860 was 1547.
1852 - 1856 - Alvah Sabin served in the United States Congress.
1877- At the behest of Alvah Sabin, the church voted for and completed a new parsonage. The old parsonage was sold, and the construction cost was $1400-$1500 for the new building. This parsonage is still in use today.

Alvah Sabin

October 23, 1793 - January 28, 1885

Alvah Sabin was born in Georgia on Pattee Hill road and spent most of his life on the farm.
He was ordained a Baptist minister at the “Old Meeting House” in Georgia Center in September of 1827. He became pastor of the Georgia Plain Baptist Church in 1828.
He represented Georgia several times in the Vermont legislature, and in 1852 was elected to the US Congress. He represented the second district of Vermont, and served four years. He also served as a county Senator and as an assistant county judge.
While in Washington, he assisted pastors in the city.
Rev. Sabin was the leader of the “Anti Slavery Society” in Georgia in 1852, which had 300 members.
He was known for giving loans to those in need, and providing many good deeds for the local citizens. One day while harnessing his horse to make the trip to Westford to preach, a neighbor who had run out of flour asked Sabin for the use of his horse. Rev. Sabin quickly hitched his horse to their wagon, and proceeded to Westford on foot.
He served as pastor of GPBC from 1828 to 1867. He resigned due to advancing years, and left Georgia to live with his children in Illinois. After less than a year, Sabin returned to Georgia and preached until 1876.
His grandson, Rev. Alvah Hobart said of Sabin, “He loved the very sands of the Plains and every brick of the meeting house.”

The Silas Gates Tragedy

As a young man, Alvah Sabin had served during the war of 1812.
The 3rd brigade of the 3rd division of the Vermont militia was called into service, and were sent to northern New York in 1813. Some young men, worried about their absence, quickly slipped away and returned home.
Sergeant Henry Gibbs and Private Alvah Sabin were sent by their commanding officer to St Albans to bring back the deserters. During the evening of November 4th, Silas Gates was among those captured. Gates asked if he could return to the inside of his house to retrieve some belongings. While inside, he scampered through a window and ran past Private Sabin. Sabin called out to him twice to halt, threatening to shoot. Gates kept on running, and Sabin fired his weapon. Gates died five days later.
Private Sabin was indicted for murder, but after two trials it had been concluded that Sabin should be acquitted of all blame. His prisoner was escaping, and it was his duty to fire.

“He was taken to the jail, put into a dark cell, and kept overnight. It was a most wretched and terrible night… He was a Christian, but he had done a deed which have never been in his thought - whether he would lose his soul (for it was a matter of grave concern). The terrible night made an impression on him that he never overcame. He always feared to be alone in the dark. The experience of that night stuck in his sensitive soul, like an arrow in a wounded deer, and gave him pain that never ceased.”-Alvah Hobart, Grandson