Ivy Creek Church was built in 1854 and was called the Ivy Creek Methodist Protestant Church. Forty members pledged funds for the purpose of erecting a building after the neighborhood lapsed into a time of “immense moral indifference”. About $800 was first secured, and the church was completed for a total cost of $2,800. John Steele supervised the construction while using slave labor.
The church was in the Mulberry Beat, and families from the communities of Hamilton, Huckabee (Evergreen), Milton, Mulberry, Statesville, and West Autaugaville availed themselves of its services.
Ivy Creek celebrated the 100th anniversary of the origin of its Sunday School on May 29, 1955. The first superintendent was Leonidas Howard with 88 members. With fifty years, F. Maury Howard has been the longest serving superintendent. At the 100th celebration, Bishop Clare Purcell said of Ivy Creek, “So many modern architects have lost the art of symmetry. A building like this is frozen music, note the relation of lines, and angles, the pleasing relation of dimension. There is a spiritual quality in the lines of an old building like this that you don’t get anywhere else. Architects of one hundred years ago had knowledge that this type of building would never tire anyone, never get old, would withstand change.”
The church education building, with a bathroom and six Sunday School rooms, was dedicated on December 21, 1958. The Lord’s Acre Project was the means used to make this much needed facility a reality. In December 1985, a spacious fellowship hall, modern kitchen, and second bathroom were added at a total cost of $45,420.53.
Bob Gamble, Alabama Architectural Historian with the Alabama Historical Commission said, “the Ivy Creek church structure is one of the best of its kind in the State of Alabama”.
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