History :

Pine Log Methodist Church was organized in 1834 by the Rev. Stephen Ellis. Erected in 1842, the present sanctuary building is the oldest church structure still in continuous use anywhere in northern Georgia.

One of the very memorable events in the life of the church took place during a revival led by Rev. J. N. Sullivan. Disappointed in the response to the services. So, on August 31, 1886, he prayed, If it takes it, shake the ground on which this old building stands. At that moment, the building shook perceptibly. Feeling that God might indeed have shaken their building, worshipers rushed to the altar to pray. They later learned that the tremors were caused by a great earthquake in Charleston, S. C. Nonetheless the hearts of the people so moved that by 1888 they had erected a new tabernacle and tents for use at an annual camp-meeting.

The large open-air tabernacle was built in 1888 to house the camp-meeting, and to replace the one destroyed by a woods fire during a drought sometime during the Civil War period. Very little is known about camp-meetings before the war. However, a brief newspaper article in the Cassville Standard for August 14, 1857 reports that the annual camp-meeting at Pine Log would begin on the following Friday night. Camp-meeting is still held in August of each year, and is an important time of renewal for the congregation and community.

The Pine Log sanctuary, tabernacle, and cemetery are listed as an historic district in the National Register of Historic Places , maintained by the National Park Service. This listing provides official recognition of the site as being worthy of preservation because of its significance to the nation's history.

The cemetery was originally a Cherokee Indian burial ground. The Cherokee graves were incorporated into the present cemetery when it came in to use in the 1850's. Prior to that time, members of the Pine Log community had maintained private cemeteries on their family farms.

The Education Building was erected in 1959 to house Sunday School classes, and to provide a place for meetings and meals for the congregation. An Annex, added in 1988, is used at least five days per week for meetings, choir rehearsal, Sunday School, and the Pine Log Educational Playgroup.

In 1962, Frank Bradford, Carl Johnson, J. M. Maxwell, and Wesley Smith erected a Pavilion to provide a place for camp-meeting lunches and for family reunions. Today it serves many purposes, and is the site of the annual Chicken Barbecue to benefit the United Methodist Children's Home.

For many years, the greatest desire of the Pine Log congregation was to become a full-time charge. On January 18, 1979, ground was broken for a new parsonage. And in June of that year, Rev. Joseph L. Watson, Jr. was appointed the first full-time pastor at Pine Log.