The Backroads Traveler: Two Historic Churches in Hancock County, Georgia

Powelton Methodist Church.

I found Hancock County to be one of the most interesting places in Georgia. It has an historic courthouse, old mills, some really old houses, and an unusually large number of ancient churches. 

On Georgia Highway 22, about 15 miles northeast of Sparta, the county seat, is the sleepy village of Powelton, one of the oldest villages in Georgia and a very important town in post-Revolutionary War days.  

Powelton Methodist Church was built in 1830, although the congregation was organized long before that. The building has not been maintained recently and looks every one of its 190-plus years, although it appears to still be structurally sound. Some readers may recognize this as the church on the cover of the book Historic Rural Churches of Georgia.

Mount Zion Presbyterian Church.

About six or seven miles north of Sparta on Georgia 15 is the Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church. Built in 1814 at a cost of $700, the Greek Revival-style structure is all that remains of a once-thriving community with an academy that was one of Georgia’s most celebrated institutions. Famous educators and writers were associated with Mt. Zion, which is said to have narrowly lost to Athens as the location for the University of Georgia. 

I visited and photographed both churches on August 17, 2016. For the Powelton church I used an Olympus E-M5 camera with a Panasonic Lumix G-Vario 12-32mm lens. The Mt. Zion church was photographed with a Canon EOS 6D and the Canon EF 28-105mm lens.

Adapted from my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia.

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Photography and text copyright 2025 David B.Jenkins.

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Tags:   photography     travel photography    digital photography     Olympus E-M5 camera     Panasonic Lumis 12-32mm lens       Canon EOS 6D camera     Canon EF 28-105mm lens     Historic churches     Hancock County, Georgia     Sparta, Georgia