“Let Us Pray”
Since the first settlement of colonials at the original location of the community known as Holly Springs, at the crossroads of Cass Holt Road & Avent Ferry Road, there has always been the driven desire to have a central place to gather to worship. Private homes were used first by parishioners and as the congregations grew so did the need for more permanent and invisible locations. Highlighted in this article are only the older churches located in historic buildings or on historic sites.
Bethel Christian Church was built with the help of Elon College shortly after the turn of the past century. It was located on Bartley Holleman Road in the Holleman’s Crossroads vicinity. According to an old time resident, “the church was abandoned because all the old people died out and the young ones moved away.” What was left of the congregation merged with the still flourishing Collins Grove Baptist Church. All that remains on the once flourishing congregation are the many families buried in the adjoining cemetery, which sits to the west of the church site. Most of these families had farms and homesteads where Shearon Harris Lake Park & Lake are now.
1870
Collins Grove Baptist Church at 3400 Avent Ferry Road was organized in 1870 in the community known as Holleman’s Crossroads and first met in the homes of parishioners. It was not until 1877 that Jesse A. Norris, the grandson of Revolutionary War Veteran John Norris, Jr., gave the church one acre of land upon which to construct the building. The church cemetery situated east of the church contains the graves of many of the original families of the area.
1871
Holly Springs Christian Church (see previous page), now called the Holly Springs United Church of Christ, was formed in 1871 by freedmen of the community and was led by Rev. Jackson Jefferson with a membership of three; Prince Page, Ned Ballentine and Edie Page. Originally, a wood frame structure was enlarged and improved as the membership grew. In 2004, a larger facility located at 116 Third Street was to become their new home. The cemetery adjacent to the church holds the final resting place of two of the founders: Prince Page and Edie Page. There is a secondary cemetery associated with this church located off Lee Street.
1866, 1868, 1935, & 1952
Formed in 1866 when approximately 50 frees slaves pooled their resources and bought a half-acre plot of land that held a log cabin, the Holly Springs First Baptist Church was born. Two years later, a new church was built but it was destroyed by fire. A new frame building was erected in the Gothic Revival style of architecture. As their congregation grew, the need for renovations saw expansion and modern amenities were added in 1935 and again in 1952.
1923
Built around 1923, this red brick Neoclassical Revival church is the second home of the Holly Springs Baptist Church. The current church sits at the corner of Raleigh and Center Streets. It replaced an earlier frame building that had been erected soon after the Baptist congregation was organized in 1822 and once stood west of Leslie-Alford-Mims House on land donated by Archibald Leslie. An educational wing was added to the south side of the church in 1971.
1860’s
The Holly Springs Methodist Church had its first meeting in the 1860s. Held in private homes until the congregation bought the old Holly Springs Academy in 1867, which was located on the hill bordering the present town cemetery, land and bricks to build a new church from George Benton Alford made the reality of a new larger building come to fruition in 1917. In keeping with the architecture, the church made additions for a Christian Life Center in 2000 and enlargement of the front entrance and sanctuary in 2017. The church is located across the street from the Leslie-Alford-Mims House at 108 Avent Ferry Road.
1925
The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church was organized in the 1900s and met in the old Champion School west of Holly Springs. In 1925, the local Methodist congregation sold the church building to what is now known as Douglas AME Zion Chapel, named in honor of the late Frank Douglas. Enterprising members used logs to roll the building down the street to its relocated and present site at 201 Douglas Street. There is a cemetery attached to the church site.
