History of the church
by Oldean S. Lindsay

Buffalo Church was first organized in 1817 as an Old School Presbyterian Church by the Rev. John Matthews, one of the earliest ministers of the county.

The constituting members were Mr. and Mrs. William McConnell, Mr. and Mrs. James Wilson, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hemphill, Mr. and Mrs. John Price, Mr. and Mrs. James Templeton, Miss Sarah Templeton and Mrs. Gosline.

For a long time, services were held in a small log house, located near to where the present church
now stands.

The house answered the purpose of a church building for many years and was afterwards used for a school.

In 1818, a young man, James W. Campbell, came into the territory who was destined to make an impression upon the entire community such as no other individual had ever done in the last four score years. He commenced preaching in 1823, at another church, and was ordained in 1825.

Sometime between 1820 and 1831, there was disagreement between the Rev. John Matthews and the people of the Buffalo congregation, which resulted in breaking up the organization.

It was in 1832 that the Rev James W. Campbell reorganized the church and was its minister for 40 years. At that time, the church passed from the control of the “Old School” into the hands of the
Cumberland Presbyterians. 

Services in the church in those days were quite different from the church services of today. Hymn books were without notes, containing long or short meter tunes, but there were few of them. The preacher would line out the songs, one verse at a time, and then sing it. 

There was a joke among the younger preachers in that time; when they could preach so the horses that were hitched outside wouldn’t break loose, they could then be risked for preaching to the people. The Sunday School was also different, having no literature only the Bible and “Child’s Scripture Question Book.” 

Those pioneer preachers would preach a “Heaven to Win” and “Hell to Shun” sermon without any compromise and then wind up their sermons with an exhortation that would seemingly shake the sinner over the bottomless pit.

The original members in this organization were Robert Kelso, Rowland Burbridge, James Allison, Mary Allison, Alexander Allison, Samuel C. Allison, Nancy Allison, Josephine Herring, Elizabeth Smith and Elizabeth Sluth.

Prior to 1882, camp meetings were being held on the grounds of a little log church. People would come from miles around, camp on the grounds and hold meetings for several weeks at a time. It was at this time that it was decided to build a new church, which was started in 1832 and finished in 1834. This one, too, was made of logs.

This church was built by the community in general and was to be used by all denominations.

However, the Cumberland Presbyterians, being the first to organized, had the prior claim upon the house for such days as they desired to use it.

The meeting house was used for several years without a floor, the people sitting on sleepers for seats. It as afterwards lathed, plastered, weather boarded and made into a comfortable place of worship. This log church was 45 x 32 feet.

As the length was so that one log would not reach, an offset was made half way of the length three feet out, five feet across and three feet back to the mainline of the building. This was used for the pulpit on one side and door for entrance on the other side. There was a door in each end of the church, and aisles running each way from the doors, thus making four sections.

One section was for the women, one for the men, one corner for the slaves who drove the buggies and wagons and the other section for the slaves who cared for the children.

Among the ministers who have preached at this church since its beginning, there was one colored man listed, namely Enoch Jackson, who preached to the colored slaves.

The first seven marriages of the county were performed by the Rev. John Matthews but records fail to show whether or not they were performed in the Buffalo Church. The present church, a frame building 65 x 42 feet, was built in 1869 at a cost of $1,500.

In 1903, the balcony was built in the entrance of the church.

Soon after moving into the present church, the question of whether to permit the use of an organ in the church was closely contested – finally prevailing. 

Some time after, two violins and a cornet were played with the piano. There have been numerous improvements to the church building over the years.

In 1928, a new metal ceiling was installed. The ceiling is of artistic designs and resulted in a complete transformation of the interior of the church.

The ceiling on either side was dropped to the tops of the windows and is arched over the rostrum. A few years later, electric lights were added.

In 1933, a basement was dug under the church with a kitchen being built in one corner, a wood storage place fixed in another part, and a large class room in another part. A coal furnace also
was installed. More improvements were made to the church building in 1961 when Sunday School classrooms were built on each side of the rostrum.

The coal furnace was converted into a gas furnace and a gas heater was installed in each of the two new classrooms, and the classroom in the basement.

Up until this time, the classroom in the basement had been heated by a wood stove. In 1964, a new hardwood floor was laid in the auditorium of the church and at the same time the kitchen was remodeled and enlarged. In the spring of 1965, a restroom was completed in the basement. In 1966, a new carpet was bought for the church which covers the rostrum and all aisles. In 1968, insulation was put between the ceiling and roof, thus making the church much warmer in the winter and cooler during the summer.

Ministers who have gone out from the historic Buffalo church who were ordained are Alexander Allison, 1833; William H. Jones, 1885; Robert H. Fry, 1886; R. Excell Fry (no date given); and Dechard Turner Jr., who was ordained at the Buffalo Church Sept. 6, 1945.

© The Louisiana Press-Journal
September 19, 2007

© 2000 Rhonda Stolte Darnell