W. M. Sanders, Esq.'s History.

"About 1820 the Methodist Brethren Southeast of Troy and Northwest of Polk Station erected a log building on the south bank of Davidson Creek on land belonging to one of their fellow members and a local preacher, Hardin Ramsy [Hardy Ramsey], a man of great preaching ability. This land became the property of W. C. Blanton, father of Dr. Blanton of Union City who owns the said land. The above log building with an open fire-place (stick and dirt chimney) for heating, was called Sardis No. 1 which was used as a place of worship for quite a number of years.

Subsequently, the congregation decided to build a new place of worship in and on the extreme southwest corner of the above track of land, now the W. C. Blanton land. A quite substantial and commodious frame building was erected and dedicated which was used by the congregation for many years. This was Sardis No. 2. Many great revivals were held in this building and many great excellent and powerful preachers preached in this church great soul-stirring sermons from its pulpit and many souls were made to see the new light inside its walls.

This brings now to something near 1898 when this Sardis No. 2 was replaced by another more modern and up to date building which we call Sardis No. 3 which served until discontinued by act of General Conference. The Sardis Church was discontinued somewhere in the 1920s. The grounds and building were sold at auction and bought by Dr. Blanton of Union City who converted it into a recreation center where it now stands and serves in such capacity.

The above very brief synopsis of the history of Sardis Church is about all that I am able to offer in the absence of sufficient data giving more detailed facts."

W. M. Sanders

This writing was given to the Obion County Historical Society by Mr. Sanders' granddaughter in 2001 and it was published in the society's "Obion Origins" newsletter. A few of the dates given here are incorrect - Obion County was hardly settled in 1820, and Hardy Ramsey was not born until 1826. The church was closed in 1938 as listed in Memphis Conference Journals. I don't know whether these errors were present in the original document or if the document was transcribed incorrectly.