The Midway Church & Society, GA (est. 1756)

For such a small community, Midway produced an unusually high number of historically significant personalities. A quick glance at the history of Midway reveals two major themes – religion and politics.

From almost the very moment the Puritans arrived, they established a church. The Midway Church and Society would later be formally erected in in a simple log cabin (1756). This church would play a crucial role in the development of the area – and the preservation of Coastal South culture.

The congregation was composed of both slaves and slave owners, and the church even would come to advocate for the religious instruction of slaves. Not only was this a rare exposure to a form of education, but the experience would later serve as a foundation for local slave religion and Gullah-Geechee spirituality in coastal Georgia.

For the white population, the cabin also served as a meetinghouse for political discussions – most importantly, Georgia’s independence from the British crown. Consequentially, it would later be burned by the British during the Revolutionary War. However, the cemetery has survived.