Singleton recalls visit to old church near Burnt Corn, Pine Orchard

George Buster Singleton

(For decades, local historian and paranormal investigator George “Buster” Singleton published a weekly newspaper column called “Somewhere in Time.” The column below, which was titled “Quaint little backwoods church acts as haven of peace in troubled world” was originally published in the June 1, 1972 edition of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)

Travel west from the Burnt Corn and Pine Orchard road, down through the cool shade along the rough trail for a distance of about three miles. After a while you will come to a small weather-beaten church. The first impression is that the building is deserted, until you see snow white curtains blowing in and out the windows. Stand under the green oak tree for a few minutes before entering and you will feel a sense of peace and relaxation come over you, as if you have left all the cares of the world behind, at the hard surfaced road.

After resting under the protective branches of the lone oak tree, climb the steps into the small one-room church that time has almost forgotten. As you enter, you will see the dangling rope that hangs from the bell tower. Looking up into the belfry you will see the age-old bell that has on many occasions called the members to worship, or tolled mournfully when a member has passed from this life into the Great Beyond.

Take a seat on the corner bench and look up the isle at the old hand-made altar with the weathered old Bible resting in position, as though it was  waiting for the preacher to begin his sermon.

As you examine the walls around you, you will find the old kerosene lamps sitting patiently on their stands, full of oil, wicks trimmed, awaiting the touch of the match, when the night service will begin. After you have absorbed the peace and tranquility around you, get up and slowly walk up the isle toward the altar. As you go, touch each bench when you pass and feel the strength of the rough hewned boards that have resisted many years of wear.

As you mount the stage on which the altar stands you will feel that you are not alone. You will turn, and as you stand behind the Book of Life, feel along the edges and see the stains from a thousand hands that sought the proper passages from the yellowed pages. Look down into the Word and you may see the passages that I saw that day I stood there alone and read aloud:

Let not your heart be troubled…

Ye that believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father’s house are many mansions…

I looked down the isle and wondered how many in years past had heard these same words. I wondered how many had sat here in this country church and dreamed of mansions: had sat here and dreamed of the hereafter, and departed this spiritually rested.

As I left the clearing that surrounded the old building, I looked back for a last look and knew that I had witnessed the peace that prevailed here in the deep woods. And I was glad.

[This column also included two photos taken by Singleton. The first photo was a shot of the church’s interior and bore the following caption - “Kerosene lamps still light the way for night services in this quaint little church in the backwoods off the Burnt Corn and Pine Orchard road.” The second photo was a picture of the churches exterior and carried the following caption – “Ageless place: Weather-beaten country church off the Burnt Corn and Pine Orchard road is materially old, but an ageless peace abides there.”]

(Singleton, the author of the 1991 book “Of Foxfire and Phantom Soldiers,” passed away at the age of 79 on July 19, 2007. A longtime resident of Monroeville, he was born to Vincent William Singleton and Frances Cornelia Faile Singleton, during a late-night thunderstorm, on Dec. 14, 1927 in Marengo County, graduated from Sweet Water High School in 1946, served as a U.S. Marine paratrooper in the Korean War, worked as a riverboat deckhand, lived for a time among Apache Indians, moved to Monroe County on June 28, 1964 and served as the administrator of the Monroeville National Guard unit from June 28, 1964 to Dec. 14, 1987. He was promoted from the enlisted ranks to warrant officer in May 1972. For years, Singleton’s columns, titled “Monroe County history – Did you know?” and “Somewhere in Time” appeared in The Monroe Journal, and he wrote a lengthy series of articles about Monroe County that appeared in Alabama Life magazine. It’s believed that his first column appeared in the March 25, 1971 edition of The Monroe Journal. He is buried in Pineville Cemetery in Monroeville. The column above and all of Singleton’s other columns are available to the public through the microfilm records at the Monroe County Public Library in Monroeville. Singleton’s columns are presented here each week for research and scholarship purposes and as part of an effort to keep his work and memory alive.)