1850-Present
Judson Baptist Church
Abbeville, Alabama AL
There were baptisms in the creek near the site of Judson Baptist Church in 1848 before the congregation was formally established in 1850, the year that Adoniram Judson, Jr., died off the coast of Burma. On March 11, 1850, for the sum of $1.00, John N. Boatright gave about 2 acres of his property “for the use of building a Baptist meeting house and school house for the use of the citizens of the vicinity,,,”[1] This congregation, known as Judson Baptist Church, would be the host church for the founding of Judson Missionary Baptist Association (see entry 1850-Present) in October 1850. We can assume the church was organized and a building was in existence before that date though the property was formally donated only seven months prior to the gathering.
With 166 members, Judson was the largest of the nine churches which made up the new association. Its pastor, Edwin Cody, was the second moderator of the association beginning his term in 1857 but after 1861 Cody’s name no longer appears in the records leaving the hint that he died during the Civil War.[2] By 1875 Judson Church had a Sabbath School.[3]
The present facilities consist of three matching red brick buildings with a well maintained cemetery adjacent on the south side of the main sanctuary. (There is an Old Judson Cemetery marked with a road sign by the Henry County Historical Group which is not adjacent to this church and needs additional research.) Currently the pastor of Judson Baptist Church is Rev. Brandon Turner who has served the church for a quarter of a century. Additionally Rev. Turner serves as director of missions for the Judson Missionary Baptist Association headquartered in Abbeville and is the active father of 10 adopted children. (JBC visited the church 10/12/25.)
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[1] “1850 Deed to Judson Baptist Church in Henry County,” transcription provided by David Hunter, Headland, AL, October 14, 2025. Copy with compiler. Original with Judson Baptist Church.
[2} R. J. Lee and Larry Smith, History of Judson Missionary Baptist Association, unpublished manuscript available from 532 Ozark Road, Abbeville, Alabama 36310, p. 1.
[3] Ibid., p. 5.