Deed to Church

Oddly enough the deed to the church property was not acquired until 1878. In that year Willis H. Sanders and wife, Lucinda Sanders gave the land and made a deed which is on record in the Johnston County courthouse. The-deed was made to the following trustees for the Smithfield-Waynes-borough circuit: John B. Beckwith, S. R. Morgan, Harry Durham, David Smith, J. H. Tomlinson, Needham Barnes and A. M. Sanders. In that year the church building had been damaged by a storm, and the church officials would not finance the necessary repairs unless a deed to the property was secured.

The present white-painted building, which seats around a hundred persons not including the balcony seats, looks practically as it did back in the 1850's. The balcony is rarely used now -- only on overflow occasions. But before the new educational building was erected, Sunday School class rooms had been curtained off in the balcony. It was in 1956 that the educational annex was built to provide adequate space for the Sunday School and for the social activities of the church. There are three class rooms and a large assembly room for the Sunday School which has an enrollment of 50. And there is a kitchen where meals can be prepared for church groups. The second floor of this $10,000 frame structure has not yet been completed.