Old Documents Posted at Forrest Hills Cemetery.

HISTORY  OF  THE  FOREST  HILL CHURCH  AND  CEMETERY

Elisha Nelson was born in North Carolina on August 1, 1875.  He was married to Jane
Brasher on October 5, 1813. The young couple first moved to Shelby County in Alabama.
Later they moved to Arkansas, settling southwest of the town of Strong, which is only a
short distance from the Louisiana state line.

One of Elisha's First Acts, after building a home for his family and quarters for his
slaves, was the donation of five acres of land for the erection of a Methodist -Episcopal
Church. Then, with the help of his slaves the hewing out and erecting of a log church, was
begun.  When completed the church was aptly named "Forest Hill".  A cemetery was also
begun.  Elisha and his wife Jane were later buried there.  The log church, later replaced
by a building of sawed lumber continued to thrive after Elisha's  death on November 30,
1865, with the support of his children, grandchildren, and others of the community.

As some of the earliest records of the Forest Hill Methodist Church have been misplaced,
the exact date of organization is unknown.  However, there is a record which states that
Ellen Nelson Clower, a daughter of Elisha Nelson, was received into the church in the year
1851.  Although the church was never strong financially or in membership, it continued to
be a great influence for good with the support of some of the outstanding families of the
community.  Those included the Mason, Grace, Nelson, Clower, Norris, Hughes, Berry and
Phillips families.

The church was torn down in 1895 and moved from Forest Hill to Concord.  The arrangements
for moving the church were made by a committee appointed on May 18, 1895 consisting of
L.A. Nelson, J.R. Phillips, Lavis Nunnally, A.C. Kelly,(Pastor) and J. R. Carson
(Presiding Elder).

2012   Trustees
Harold Nelson         Donald Bennett   870-797-2201
Gene Pridgen          Buddy Bennett