History of Sandy Creek Baptist Church in Amelia County
Sandy Creek Baptist Church is the oldest Baptist Church in Amelia County and one of the oldest Baptist churches in Virginia. Born by the year 1771, but probably years before 1771, when Virginia was a colony of England, Sandy Creek pre-dates our nation. Begun as a mission church of Nottoway Baptist Church, the only Baptist Church in Amelia County in 1765, Sandy Creek took on its own identity around 1771. The first Baptists churches in Virginia had a struggle to merely exist because the Church of England was the only “legal” church until after the Revolutionary War. The first pastor of Nottoway Church, Jeremiah Walker, was imprisoned in Chesterfield County, as were other Baptist preachers of the period. After the American Revolution, Sandy Creek, located at the small village of Deatonville, was well established as a Baptist church.
When the Civil War came along, Sandy Creek Baptist Church was still active, and still located at Deatonville, which was barely a village by then. Sandy Creek was caught in the middle of the Battle of Sailor’s Creek and all of the early church records were destroyed by Union troops. Somehow, the one-room church was spared, probably because the Union troops were in too big a hurry to catch General Robert E. Lee. The present Church now stands only a few miles from Sailor’s Creek State Park. Sandy Creek Baptist Church struggled to stay alive, after the Civil War, and for some years afterwards. Our earliest records state that three men, from the pre-war membership, at least one of whom was a Confederate veteran, met in 1865 to re-organize the scattered church membership. But, in spite of a bloody war, and a major battle fought quite literally in its back yard, the church continued. About 1878, Sandy Creek Baptist Church took great strides forward under the leadership of Rev. John R. Bagby, who also served Muddy Creek Baptist Church and Mt. Moriah Baptist Church. Then, around 1908, another tragedy struck. The old church building, which had survived a bloody Civil War battle, was totally destroyed by an accident, a field fire. Seemingly undaunted, and led by Rev. Bagby, the membership rebuilt. They maintained Sunday school and worship services, first in a tent and then in borrowed spaces. The new church building was dedicated in 1910. That church building still stands, though refurbished many times. In 1967, the first major addition to the present structure was built. In 1999, Hamlett Fellowship Hall was completed, approximately doubling the church building’s size. Sandy Creek Baptist Church has survived for 249 years. We have been blessed beyond measure. We honor our history by preserving the site of the original church building. It is located behind the present structure, down by the old spring, which we also preserve. We welcome visitors. That is part of our history too. Written by Sandy Creek’s Historian, Lynn Estes.