TOWN OF NEWBORN

Bethlehem Baptist Church is Newton County’s oldest, continuously operating African-American church. Archives | The Covington News

From the Past... To Now!

Newborn’s Mayor and Council congratulates the City of Covington for 200 years! We celebrate the Bicentennial!

• Covington First Baptist Church formed on June 21,1823, with the Rev. Joel Colley its first pastor. It was originally Bethlehem Church of Christ and the site of its first meeting house was on the east side of Indian Creek.

It later moved to what is now Stallings Street, on the site of the Old Covington Jail. The first full-time pastor was the Rev. Eugene Pendleton in 1905.

The cornerstone for the current church building at the east end of Usher Street was laid in 1909.

It only had two pastors during a 58-year span in the 20th century. The Rev. Walker Combs served 34 years from 1917 to 1951; and his successor, the Rev. Edgar Callaway, served from 1951 to 1975.

The current senior pastor is Cody McNutt. • Covington First Presbyterian Church formed on Jan. 21, 1827, and was located near the present site of the old Covington jail. It dissolved in 1847 and was reorganized 30 years later.

Its first installed pastor was the Rev. T.B. Trenholm in 1877, and during the pastorate of Sam Burney Hay the first Vacation Bible School was held.

The original church was destroyed by fire in March of 1926, and a new sanctuary was rebuilt and dedicated during October of that same year. That sanctuary now contains church offices. The construction of a two-story building containing additional Sunday School rooms and the Martin Fellowship Hall was completed in May of 1959.