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Founded about 1855 in what was known as the Stout Creek neighborhood, this church was established on a half-acre of land deeded from attorney Thomas Willison to church trustees. The 1855 trustees included James S. Stout, the original owner of the Methodist church land and much of the surrounding area. He was active in establishing schools, roads and churches in the community and served in civic and military capacities. The other trustees were James Stout's brother-in-law, Andrew J. Richey, along with William Truitt, Williams S. Fults and Robert Hamilton. The earliest known grave in the cemetery adjoining the church property is that of John Minter, who arrived in the area in 1855. By early 1856, he owned an interest in 26 acres of the original townsite, then called Saratoga. Minter died in 1856. Robert Junell, local landowner, was the second person interred here when he died in 1857. School classes were held in a building on church property in the 1860s. Later, classes and worship took place in the same structure. Joseph T. and Sarah A. Minter donated another one and one-half acres to the church in 1875 for community burial purposes. Additional land was given in 1883 and again in 1893. The first recorded pastor of the Pine Forest Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was J. W. Hunter who served in 1894. The church and cemetery continued to serve throughout the 20th century. A flood in the 1940s reportedly washed away many gravestones. The cemetery contains more than 600 graves and, like the church, is still active. The Pine Forest Church and Cemetery continue in the traditions of their pioneer founders. (1999) |
