Howard's Chapel: Built on the Rock

Howard's Chapel, near DeSoto State Park and Ft. Payne, Alabama.

Well, not built on a rock, exactly, but built against a massive boulder which forms the rear wall of the sanctuary. I first discovered this church when we camped at DeSoto State Park on Lookout Mountain, south of Mentone, Alabama, in the late 1960s. The building is only a few hundred yards from the park's north entrance, and was a Methodist church at that time. It is surely one of the most unusual churches in the United States.

The rock and its church.

Louise and I went to Mentone over the weekend to attend a memorial service for her last surviving high school teacher -- Marj Decker, who died at age 91 after a long and distinguished life of service as a teacher, and later, as a missionary.

We booked a room for Sunday night at the State Park lodge, and I looked forward to revisiting the nearby church. Lest there be any confusion, the memorial service was not here -- it was at Moon Lake Baptist in Mentone. But I hoped to make some better photos of Howard's Chapel than I had made in 1969.

The interior of Howard's Chapel. The rock overshadows the pulpit.

The church was built in 1937 by Colonel Milford W. Howard in honor of his first wife, Sally Lankford Howard. The mountain people assisted in the construction. The altar was built of stones from the Little River. Colonel Howard is buried in the rock behind the pulpit.

Colonel Howard's crypt in the rock behind the pulpit.

Custody of the property passed to the DeKalb Baptist Association in 1974 and services are still being held in the unique, old building.

Photos: Fuji X-H1 with Fujicron 16-80 f4 lens.

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available. The price is $22.95 plus $3.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail me a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Check out the pictures at my online gallery: https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  Looking is free, and you might find something you like.

Photography and text copyright 2023 David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags:   photography     travel    Alabama    Mentone     DeSoto State Park  Howard's Chapel    Fuji X-H1   Fujicron 16-80 lens     Colonel Milford W. Howard     Rural churches     Lookout Mountain    Ft. Payne

Random Photographs

A beach near Ponce Inlet, Florida.

 From the time I became serious about photography in 1968, I have always carried a camera. My family refers to it as my "growth." Through the years since, I've always had a camera on my person or no farther than my car. And I've always kept my eyes open for pictures. My philosophy is simple: I've never taken a good picture at a time when I didn't have a camera with me.

So what interests me? Most everything. Most people would have passed by the trash cans on a Florida beach, but I saw something about their color and their arrangement against the tan sand, the blue-green ocean, and the deep blue sky that appealed to me. So I made a picture. Actually, several, with different compositions. I liked this one best.

Abandoned Gulf station, Georgia Highway 169, Tattnall County, Georgia.

 Likewise, an old Gulf filling station on a southeast Georgia back road. Gulf Oil had been defunct for many years by that time, so that tells you something about how old the station is. Yet, the paint is still looking reasonably good, and the tin roof appears to be in fine shape. Must have had one of those 40-year guarantees. From the gas prices posted, the station has apparently been out of business since the mid-1970s. On the left side is a bay where they probably worked on cars.

Abandoned cap by the highway.

 Traveling east from Waycross, Georgia on U.S. 84, I chanced to see this abandoned cap beside the road. Probably blew off the head of someone who was riding in the back of a pickup. Nothing special about this picture -- just a glimpse into an unknown life. Probably not worth taking, but while film is cheap, digital is free. So why not? Another random photograph.

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available. The price is $22.95 plus $3.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail me a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Check out the pictures at my online gallery: https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  Looking is free, and you might find something you like.

Photography and text copyright 2023 David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags:   photography     travel    Georgia    Florida     Ponce Inlet   Tattnall County     Waycross   Gulf Oil