Five slaves organized the church in a canebrake in July 1800. At the time the church was formed, blacks typically could neither read nor write, so they chose a white man, Benjamin Rachel, to be the first clerk. He made very good records from the beginning.
The slave-founders were owned by Gen John Twiggs, who later allowed them to meet on his plantation, a considration that continued for many years.
With the abolition of slavery and the end of the Civil War, Spirit Creek and four other historically black churches petitioned the Georgia Baptist Association for permission to form their own fellowship.
The action resulted in the creation of the Ebenezer Baptist Association in 1866.[ see Ebenezer cemetery]
Freed blacks also had the right to purchase property after the war. Spirit Creek, under the direction of the Rev. Frank Beal, purchased 14 1/2 acres on Butler Creek in 1868.
This church is now at the Hwy 56 [Mike Padget Hwy] and Dixon Airline Road.
One of the Pastors after the Civil War, The Rev. Daniel McHorton, established the "Shiloh Orphanage".
Those Buried on the Church Grounds are: