Rockymount Baptist

The Rockymount Baptist Church was formed on the 20th of November 1869. It was organized by the members of the Bluestone Baptist Church who lived on River Ridge. Not having a building of their own, they met this day at Jordan's Chapel, then at Plymouth Township, Mercer County. The famous elders, John Braff and Rufus Pack, guided its organization as they did for many of the churches formed in this area and time. Elder John Braff was chosen pastor and Joseph Keaton, clerk. Melvin Farley, Samuel Hopkins, William Hugh, John Roles and Nelson H. Farley were appointed deacons. 

The first order of business was to adopt the discipline of “Mouth Greenbrier Baptist Church save that of family worship” and that of the Missionary order. Next, a Church Covenant, Declaration of Faith, and Rules of Decorum were written, and their clerk was ordered to furnish the mother church, Bluestone, “with a list of members who composed this church out of the mother church.”

The name of the church, “Rockymount,” came from the influence of the Farley family. This family was more numerous than any others, and they were in the majority as members of the new church. The Farleys were originally from Rocky Mount in Franklin County, Virginia. 

For many years, the members met in other church buildings in the area and at different members’ homes. In 1872, the members built a log church on River Ridge near the central point on its crest. This log structure still stands as a testimony of the strength of these early settlers. The church was active for over 60 years. The old log church is opened once a year, the second Sunday in September, for “Homecoming,” when descendants and friends of the early settlers gather in remembrance of their heritage.

Members of the Rockymount Baptist Church also built Farleys Chapel at Farley and Beech Springs. This building burned and was rebuilt only to burn again.

This description was transcribed verbatim from the Rockymount Baptist Church entry in “Mercer County History – 1984,” a publication of the Mercer County Historical Society.