The Ackerville Baptist Church of Christ congregation was founded in 1844 with twenty-eight members. Membership had risen to seventy-nine by 1847, and in 1848, the congregation completed construction of this church in the nearby community of Oak Hill. In 1866, the church was taken apart piece by piece and reassembled in its current location in the community of Ackerville. The years between 1850 and 1894 were fruitful ones for the church, with membership rising to 103, but by 1920, membership had begun to decline. In 1943, membership had dropped to sixteen, and the church discontinued regular meetings.
The Ackerville Church is a simple one-room church with a coveredt porch on the front supported by four square columns. The outside of the building is clad with wooden clapboards made of true 1″ x 6″ hand-hewn lumber. The interior walls and ceiling are of hand-hewn 1″ x 6″ boarding butted together with blacksmith-made square head tapered nails. The wood flooring has the same method of construction. A pot-bellied stove was removed in the 1950s leaving the building with no heat. A six-light oil-burning chandelier originally hung from the ceiling and matching oil-burning wall sconces were mounted between the windows. The wall sconces disappeared during the 1950s. The chandelier was stolen in the late 1960s.
There have been no additions to the original building and few alterations. Alterations include the tin roof, replacement of the original wooden steps with a cement unit, and brace rods installed (circa 1960) to secure the foundation. The brick foundation piers were replaced in 1988.
The church was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on July 22, 1991, and to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on April 18, 2003.
This church is located in the small community of Ackerville in east Wilcox County (32.031677,-87.068425 – Google Maps).
Sources: 1: NRHP “Ackerville Baptist Church of Christ” Registration Form; 2) Alabama’s Places In Peril (prepared by The Alabama Historical Commission and the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation)