CARROLLTON — Carroll County Fire Investigator Adam Eubanks and state fire marshals have initially concluded a fire at a historic African-American church was an accident, Sheriff Clint Walker said Wednesday.
Spring Hill Christian Methodist Episcopal Church on County Road 258 burned Monday night. A neighbor called in a report, but the structure had burned to the ground by the time the North Carrollton Volunteer Fire Department arrived.
The church is in a rural area about eight miles from North Carrollton and six miles south of U.S. 82.
Walker said church members reported hearing popping sounds in an electrical box on Dec. 27, the last time they met. The church holds services once each month.
Ethel Boyd, church secretary, said the church celebrated its 144th anniversary last year, and the historic building was special to all of the members. They were in the process of some remodeling, she said.
Boyd, a lifelong member of the church, said she said she was shocked when she heard the news. She described the church as “family-oriented.”
“We’re just a small group, about 30 members,” she said. “But the church has meant so much. My daughter, who is now 31, was baptized there, and her oldest son was baptized there.”
Boyd said the community has responded to the church members “with so much love. Sheriff Walker, the fire marshals, our supervisor, Claude Fluker. Everybody has been wonderful, very supportive.”
Church members have not had time to get together and make plans for the future, but Boyd said she is hopeful they can “reconnect and rebuild.”
“I know the Lord has a plan for everything,” she said. “We’re trusting Him for directions.”
