In 1823 and 1824, Rev. William J. “Billy” Parks was assigned to the Gwinnett Mission, which he described as “newly settled country.” He traveled for miles through the woods and reported that the people rejoiced to see a minister come. He described that period as “happy, successful years in my ministry: Souls were converted, churches organized, and a few plain little log buildings erected.”

One of those churches may have been Mount Carmel, or perhaps Mount Carmel was organized a few years later by some of the people from the Medlock Chapel congregation. We believe that the first building was built on this site in 1828, on five acres of land donated for the church. Rev. Parks was once again assigned to Gwinnett and was our first pastor. He was a circuit rider with several churches and probably only preached at Mount Carmel once a month. An eyewitness describes Billy Parks in this way:

He was dressed in the humblest garb of the country, poorly fitting coat of plain jeans, cut in the old Methodist style, a coppery dyed linsey vest, coarse pantaloons too short for him, blue yarn socks, and heavy brogan shoes. His appearance provoked a good-natured grin from the congregation, themselves not dressed in the height of fashion; but before the sermon was finished, they were smiling in the realization that a real man was among them.

In 1876, the members of Mount Carmel decided to build a second building on the same site. It was located slightly to the east of this building, in what is now part of the cemetery. In her memoir, Alone with My Thoughts, longtime member Alice Youngblood describes the 1876 building as drafty and cold in the winter; the wood stove often smoked and gave off little warmth, especially when the wood was wet or green. Services were now held twice a month. There were benches, not pews, and the men and women sat on opposite sides of the church.

By the early 1920’s, members of Mount Carmel felt the need for a more comfortable, spacious, and up-to-date church sanctuary. Most of these were farmers. With poor crop conditions and low prices prevailing, they decided if they ever built a new church, much of the labor and materials would have to be donated; sufficient cash was not to be had. Some of the more interested workers would occasionally get up a barbecue, thereby raising funds and also serving the purpose of a get-together meeting.

It was at one of these barbecues that Mr. John Mills of Atlanta volunteered to give five hundred dollars to a church fund. Mr. T. E. Summerour, of Norcross, also expressed a willingness to contribute liberally. From these promises, the flame of enthusiasm spread. A short time thereafter, a building committee was elected. Among the members were Henry Bolton, Amos Carroll, and Hugh Medlock. We have direct descendents of all those members in our congregation today.

Work started on the foundation in the fall of 1924. The work was almost complete in early August of 1925, in time for the August revival meeting, and the formal dedication was held in May, 1926.

In 1951, new pews were added to the sanctuary. Most of them were given as memorials, and you can see the plaques on the ends of the pews. The Women’s Society was chartered in 1952, and the Men’s Club was organized in 1954. We started having barbecues around 1955. In 1956, the basement under the sanctuary was dug out, and the kitchen and old fellowship hall right beneath us were finished. The parsonage across the street was built in 1960. Sunday School rooms behind the sanctuary were built in 1963 and 1964. The first full-time pastor was assigned to Mount Carmel in 1972. The sanctuary was air-conditioned in 1974. We purchased the Hope House in 1986. By 1998, the church building expanded with the construction of a new Fellowship Hall and education wing.  

Today, Mt. Carmel UMC continues this rich history with renewed outreach and an ongoing commitment to share transformational hope and love with our neighbors around the corner and around the world.