West Main Baptist Church

West Main Baptist Church in Sparkman, Arkansas.

West main is the product of two churches merging in 1927. New Alabama Church; which was organized October 19, 1903 at Fairview Community, five miles west of Sparkman; and Oak Gove Church, organized May, 1924, located four miles north of Sparkman, near the W. E. Roberts place consolidated and became West Main Baptist Church.

The two churches met together October 23, 1927 and voted to consolidate and locate at Sparkman.

They came together as one body under the name of Second Baptist Church of Sparkman, November 11, 1927; which later became West Main Baptist Church.There are no records of Old Alabama Baptist Church. There is a cemetery in the woods where the church once sttod, off Highway 7 four miles north of Sparkman. A man by the name of Alabama gave the land for the church, school and cemetery so they named the church the Alabama Church. New Alabama Southern Baptist Church was built in 1914, and was named for the Old Alabama Church. It stood about 1/2 mile from Rock Spring Methodist Church. Reverend J. I. Cossey, a student at Ouachita College was the first pastor. He was later elected President of the Southern Baptist Church. The Church was rebult and moved to the present location in 1941.

Photos provided by Sherri DeBaillie.

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