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Rivertown UM Church.
We invite you to tour the Chatt Hills Barn Quilt Trail and learn more about the rich rural heritage of beautiful Chattahoochee Hills. Visitors are welcome to take photos from the public road, and are invited to shop in the local businesses.
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Rivertown UM Church (#53)
9325 Rivertown Rd 
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Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound
Rivertown United Methodist Church is among the oldest African American churches in Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia.
Dating back to the late 1800s, early Black settlers established two brush arbors in this area to provide sheltered places for worship. By 1887, through faith and hard work, they acquired two acres of land and built a wooden church, then named Pleasant Hill Methodist Episcopal Church. When selecting a barn quilt for their church, they chose a Cross pattern framed by individual squares joined together to resemble multiple paths. They named their quilt, Amazing Grace, in honor of their faith-led journey. |
Honoring our Heritage. . . Quilts then and now
A church member recalls her early childhood, watching her grandmother hustle and bustle about her daily chores. "Grandmother saved scraps of fabric from worn-out clothes, which she cut into patches and kept a supply of in her pockets. While she was cooking supper, she'd periodically take a break and stitch a few of those patches into a quilt she was making. As I watched the quilt grow over time, I marveled at how the pattern emerged, and also how Grandmother could tell the story of each of those patches."
During the July 2025 Homecoming Service at Rivertown United Methodist Church, Rev. Dr. A. Elaine Crawford, pastor, opened the Quilt Dedication Ceremony with reflections on the church's new symbolic quilt.
"This quilt is more than color and cloth. It is memory. It is ministry. It is the thread of our story—stitched together by ancestors who prayed, served, and stood strong in faith. Each square tells a part of the story of Rivertown: songs sung, sermons preached, meals shared, tears wiped, and hope passed on. May this quilt serve as a public testimony: We were here. We are here. By God’s grace, we endure."
During the July 2025 Homecoming Service at Rivertown United Methodist Church, Rev. Dr. A. Elaine Crawford, pastor, opened the Quilt Dedication Ceremony with reflections on the church's new symbolic quilt.
"This quilt is more than color and cloth. It is memory. It is ministry. It is the thread of our story—stitched together by ancestors who prayed, served, and stood strong in faith. Each square tells a part of the story of Rivertown: songs sung, sermons preached, meals shared, tears wiped, and hope passed on. May this quilt serve as a public testimony: We were here. We are here. By God’s grace, we endure."
Heritage story . . . Building a legacy of faith, hope and service
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Illustration of typical brush arbor, Rivertown's first wooden church, Rivertown's current church at 9325 Rivertown Rd.
As told in The History of Rivertown United Methodist Church (est. 1887) . . .
Life in the late 1800s was one of simplicity and full of struggles for the mere existence of Black people. This struggle was felt in all areas of living: socially, emotionally, educationally, financially and spiritually. Yet, our ancestors made their dreams become realities by establishing “brush arbors”— a crude means of shelter made from the cutting of canes to form a tent covered in tree branches to provide shelter for worship.
As the brush arbors began to vanish our fore-parents gave considerable thought to building a community church. They worked hard and saved, raising enough to acquire almost two acres of land on which they constructed the first wood framed church, "Pleasant Hill Methodist Episcopal Church.”
In 1974 the church’s name was changed to Rivertown Methodist Church, and a few years later when segregation within the church ended; it became Rivertown United Methodist Church located within the Atlanta College Park District of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Under the leadership of Rev. Wimbley Hale Jr., the church acquired 3 acres of land from Mr. Henry and Mrs. Rosetta Knox, and after fundraising and much hard work, a new brick church was built on Rivertown Road near Jenkins Road. On May 15, 1977, goodbyes were said to the old church and praises were lifted as we entered our new church’s sanctuary.”
[Read More]
[Visit the Church's Website]
Life in the late 1800s was one of simplicity and full of struggles for the mere existence of Black people. This struggle was felt in all areas of living: socially, emotionally, educationally, financially and spiritually. Yet, our ancestors made their dreams become realities by establishing “brush arbors”— a crude means of shelter made from the cutting of canes to form a tent covered in tree branches to provide shelter for worship.
As the brush arbors began to vanish our fore-parents gave considerable thought to building a community church. They worked hard and saved, raising enough to acquire almost two acres of land on which they constructed the first wood framed church, "Pleasant Hill Methodist Episcopal Church.”
In 1974 the church’s name was changed to Rivertown Methodist Church, and a few years later when segregation within the church ended; it became Rivertown United Methodist Church located within the Atlanta College Park District of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Under the leadership of Rev. Wimbley Hale Jr., the church acquired 3 acres of land from Mr. Henry and Mrs. Rosetta Knox, and after fundraising and much hard work, a new brick church was built on Rivertown Road near Jenkins Road. On May 15, 1977, goodbyes were said to the old church and praises were lifted as we entered our new church’s sanctuary.”
[Read More]
[Visit the Church's Website]