Claybank Church

The Claybank community was founded after settlers came to the public lands of Alabama from the more developed eastern south. One of the earliest settlements in the area was made along Claybank Creek on the public and undeveloped land that was open for settling. Those that came to attempt to settle were for the most part simple people attempting to make homes for themselves. As the community here grew, there was a need to construct a small building for use as a church by the various denominations. The first structure here was a round log chapel built on land donated by Elisah Matthews. The building was built by Curtis Byrd, his two brothers, Isaac and William Byrd, William Martin, John Merric, William Andrews, Eli Ruffin, and others. This building was intended to be a non-denominational Christian church as well as be used for various community functions. The building served as a one-room school, polling location, and community meeting hall. At this structure the community held monthly preachings, attracting settlers from miles around to participate. The sermons held here were served by Robert Williams, a “hard gospel ranger” otherwise known as a circuit rider. These regular gatherings were consistently held, even during the period of the Civil War. An old ledger gives an account of a sad and small funeral that was held for the body of a young soldier.

By 1852 the building was being primarily utilized as a Methodist church. With the community’s continual growth the original chapel started to overflow with the number of people in attendance, prompting the construction of a new building. In 1852 the second church was constructed under the direction of a local Methodist minister Rev. Demsey Dowling. The logs for the building were cut from land owned by his son, and much of the labor for the building was done by his family. Once constructed the new building continued to be used for various community functions, but it is unclear if the structure was then used by other denominations.

Around 1870 the population in the area had begun to concentrate in the nearby town of Ozark and in 1873 the Methodist congregation decided to move to a location closer to the center of town. A sizable amount of the congregation members objected to this move and continued to hold services in the Claybank church. By1900 however, there had been a gradual decline in membership, and the church was only used for occasional revivals and annual picnics. It was maintained sporadically by members of the community until it was acquired by the non-denominational group the Claybank Memorial Association in the mid-1960s. The group continues to maintain the church and keep it open to the public.

On November 7th, 1976 the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places and In 1980 the building was restored to its original condition by descendants of William A. Ophelia and Dowling Byrd.  Today the area around the building contains a small dirt road and a clearing that contains some small picnic tables.

Floyd, W. Warner. Claybank Log Church, National Register of Historic Places. November 7th 1976. Accessed November 27th 2020. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=bc27ed51-01bd-4706-b034-2821858494e4.

Causey, Donna R. Old Clay Bank Church, Alabama Pioneers. Accessed November 27th 2020. https://www.alabamapioneers.com/old-clay-bank-church-ozark-built-1829-still-standing-dale-county-alabama/.

Cox, Dale. Historic Claybank Church - Ozark, Alabama, ExploreSouthernHistory.com. July 28th 2012. Accessed November 27th 2020. https://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/claybankchurch.