2017 List

Old Galatia Church

In the years just before the American Civil War, Euro-American settlers came into an area of rolling hills east of the White River in present-day Baxter County. They named the place Galatia, acknowledging a region of north-central Anatolia perhaps best known today because of Apostle Paul’s letters to Christian converts living there. In 1886 Robert Waid Lackey donated 10 acres for a church and cemetery. The first Galatia Church was destroyed by fire in 1900, and the present church was built soon thereafter to replace it. Although affiliated with the Church of Christ at one time, the Old Galatia Church accommodated several denominations over the years. The church was used as a community gathering place. It was the site of meetings and revivals, pie suppers, weddings and funerals. Generations are buried in the adjacent cemetery, which is still active and very well maintained. The Old Galatia Church has not been in use for many years, although it is occasionally pressed into service. The interior of the church is in good shape but the exterior needs repair. In the 1980s the church was covered in vinyl siding, which is now falling off, revealing the original wood siding underneath. The building was deemed unsafe by the local fire chief, and in 2015 the property was condemned. However, in 2020 the property was added to the National Register of Historic Places, thus making it eligible for grants to save and preserve the building.