Flint Ridge UMC - Chatham County, North Carolina - Country Churches on Waymarking.com

I stumbled across this lovely old church building while searching for a nearby Benchmark. A sign near the road identified this as a United Methodist Church. The building is in need of a coat of paint, leading me to believe that it was abandoned. However, the grounds had been mowed. I noticed that a power pole had been erected recently in the side yard, supporting new electric wires running to the east side of the structure. But, there was no power meter in the socket. The conflicting clues left me undecided whether the building remained in use as a church.

At the right rear of the building is a cemetery with graves dating from the 1880’s, and continuing up to the present time. Like the rest of the grounds, the cemetery is well-maintained and mowed.

I placed a call to the Burlington District Headquarters of the UMC and spoke with the Secretary to the Superintendent. She lives in nearby Snow Camp and is very familiar with the building. The number of members had been in decline for many years, I was told. At one time, volunteers from the Methodist Church in Snow Camp assisted with services at Flint Ridge. Eventually, worship activity ceased, and the building was boarded up. It has since been sold, although the Secretary said that the UMC retained ownership of the cemetery.

Additional information might be available from the Superintendent of the Rocky Mount District, who was one of the Trustees while he served in Siler City.

Directions: From SR2376 (Sam Low Road) at the Alamance-Chatham County line, proceed easterly along SR1351 (Flint Ridge Road) about 0.5 mile to church, on left. Or, from Silk-Hope-Liberty Road, 2 miles west of Crutchfield Crossroads, turn north on Flint Ridge Road and go approximately 3 miles, to church on right.