The balconies were said to have been used by enslaved people, and were removed in 1936 but later restored.
Prior to restoration of the balconies.
Elders Walter C. McMillan, L.D. Cashion and Gurney Nance.
Read the History of Sandy Creek Primitive Baptist Church
Read the Landmark Designation Resolution
Sandy Creek Baptist Church is not only the oldest organized church in Randolph County, but also the oldest surviving religious structure. Lefler and Newsome in their North Carolina, A History of a Southern State, say that "the most significant landmark in Baptist history was the founding of Sandy Creek Baptist Church." The Southern Baptist Convention, in marking the site of the original church, stated that "it is a mother, nay a grandmother, and great grandmother. All the Separate Baptists sprang hence...." The congregation was established in 1755. Services were held in a brush arbor or in the open. The first meeting house was built in 1762. The present log meeting house is the third on the site and was built around 1802.
The 1802 building is of log construction and still houses the original stand or pulpit, pinned with wooden pegs, and some original benches. The meeting house originally had raked balconies across each end of the structure which were said to have been used for slaves. The balconies were removed around 1936 but now have been restored. There are now two doors and two windows. Even though the old church was weather boarded in 1870 and asphalt siding was added in 1953, today the siding has been removed to show the log construction.
