Sardis Primitive Baptist Church and Cemetery is a historic

Primitive Baptist Primitive Baptists – also known as Hard Shell Baptists, Foot Washing Baptists or Old School Baptists – are conservative Baptists adhering to a degree of Calvinist beliefs who coalesced out of the controversy among Baptists in the early 19th c ...

church and cemetery in

Madison, North Carolina Madison is a town located in Rockingham County, North Carolina. At the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 2,132. Madison is part of the Greensboro-High Point Metropolitan Statistical Area of the Piedmont Triad metro region. It was h ...

. Founded in 1801, it is one of the oldest church congregations in Rockingham County.

History

Sardis Church was organized on March 25, 1801. The first church building was constructed in 1806 on a plot of land near the town of

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, donated by Zachariah Wall. The second church building, a log school house, was in the Ellisboro community on the south side of the

Dan River The Dan River flows in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Virginia. It rises in Patrick County, Virginia, and crosses the state border into Stokes County, North Carolina. It then flows into Rockingham County. From there it flows back int ...

. The congregation constructed a third building in 1900; a plain, one-room wooden building on the site of the current church. The fourth and current building was built in 1913 and is made of brick. The church follows the

tradition and was a member of the Mayo Association until 1909, when the Salem Association was formed. It is one of the oldest churches in Rockingham County.

Notable burials

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

, American painter and sculptor *

J. P. Carter James Pratt Carter (August 20, 1915 – December 19, 2000) was an American military officer, politician, and educator. During his career in the United States Army, he served in World War II and the Korean War, retiring from the army in 1958 with ...

, American politician and military officer

References

{{Reflist 1801 establishments in North Carolina 19th-century Baptist churches in the United States Baptist cemeteries in the United States Baptist churches in North Carolina Cemeteries in North Carolina Churches completed in 1913 Churches in Rockingham County, North Carolina Primitive Baptists