Mt. Ephraim Baptist Church has survived Charley, economic change

Mt. Ephraim Baptist Church has survived Charley, economic change

Owens Community, three miles southwest of Arcadia, was named for Owen Huggins Dishong, DeSoto Countys first sheriff and one of Mt. Ephraims charter members. He gave three acres of land for the construction of the church and the cemetery, where he is now buried.

The church was established in 1884the same year the Florida Baptist Witness published its first edition.

Circuit-rider Alderman Wilson conducted the first meeting on August 9, 1884, when charter members organized and selected a name for the church. The church first met in a log building called the Hayman School, and J.H. Hayman served as the first pastor. The churchs first building, constructed in 1888, was located across the street from the present sanctuary.

Kerosene lamps suspended from the ceiling replaced candles that were used for lighting in 1888. Before electricity came to the community, a gasoline-powered generator was installed that sometimes left the preacher preaching in twilight to total darkness, according to a church history written in 2010 by former member Bob Tuttle.

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Mt. Ephraim Baptist Church has survived Charley, economic change