The first settler came to what is now Vidalia in 1800. He built his pioneer home and also built a Presbyterian house of worship. Though served by a pastor for a brief time, it was some 90 years later that Presbyterians officially established their presence in Vidalia. Beginning on October 1, 1890, the Reverend R. E. Steele, evangelist for the Savannah Presbytery visited Vidalia and preached several times. He returned in November and subsequently, Vidalia Presbyterians petitioned presbytery on the 28th of that month to establish a church.

On December 18, 1890 the Vidalia Presbyterian Church was organized by a Commission of Savannah Presbytery with 14 charter members. Worship was conducted by Reverend Mr. Steele in the local one-room schoolhouse. In March of 1891 plans were underway to construct a one-story building of heart-pine lumber. A bell, purchased from a company in Hillsborough, Ohio, was hung in the belfry. This bell continues to be used each Sunday to call the congregation to worship. A Sabbath School was started on September 30, 1892 and has continued uninterrupted since that date.

The Vidalia congregation has always sought to spread the Gospel and the Presbyterian tradition. In 1901 a Elder from the Vidalia congregation, Mr. P. A. McQueen started a Sunday School in the Aimwell Community. In 1903 the Aimwell Presbyterian Church was organized as a result of his endeavors. This congregation continued until 1944 when it sold its property to the U.S. Government so that an air base could be constructed (presently the Toombs County Airport). The Aimwell congregation moved to Lyons and in 1945 became the Lyons Presbyterian Church. In 1906 the Sadie Presbyterian Church located in Petross, about 8 miles southwest of Vidalia was organized. The pastor of the Vidalia Church also served as the pastor of these churches during their formative years. The Sadie Church was dissolved in 1946 with most of its members going to the McGregor Presbyterian Church.

The English Eddy Chapel, located 19 miles south of Vidalia on US Highway 1 was begun as a Sunday School mission on Mother's Day of 1934. Mrs. Frances Mann Dennis initiated this ministry and through the efforts of Reverend Mr. Orr the chapel started in an abandoned farm commissary building. In 1954 the present chapel building was dedicated. On April 5, 1998, Savannah Presbytery organized the English Eddy Presbyterian Church. Its pastor is the Reverend Joe Brice. Services are held every 2nd and 4th Sundays. A Homecoming Service and dinner-on-the-grounds is held annually on Mother's Day.

In September of 1924 the Vidalia Presbyterian Church congregation determined the need for a new church building and raised $4,000 toward that goal. The old sanctuary was razed. The congregation met for services in the city auditorium. In July of 1926 the bank holding the church's Building fund closed and the congregation was left without funds. Two years later the Reverend R. H. Orr came as pastor with the goal of leading the church into a new building. The "crash" of 1926 hit the congregation hard, membership dwindled as did morale. Reverend Mr. Orr continued to pursue his goal, however, in the summer of 1931 what little money the church had accumulated was once again lost in a bank closing.

Undaunted, the congregation continued under the Reverend Mr. Orr's leadership. They leased their land to Sinclair Oil and a service station was built. Income from this arrangement enabled the church to begin construction on the present sanctuary. The present structure was completed in the spring of 1940. The bell from the first sanctuary had been safely stored in a member's barn and it was heard again, ringing out in celebration of the church's Golden Anniversary.

The Reverend Ewell Nelson served the church from April 1, 1942 - November 30, 1952. During this decade the congregation doubled in size to a membership of 112. The Education Building and Fellowship Hall were added and dedicated on July 4, 1954. A new manse was constructed on Center Drive and was first occupied in 1959 by the Richard Ribble family. In 1981 the church purchased additional land adjoining the fellowship hall.

In June of 1994 the Future's Committee presented to the congregation a "Faith and Function Report" on its facilities. As a result, in 1996 a house next door to the church was purchased and remodeled to serve as the church office, library and pastor's study. And, beginning in January 1997, the sanctuary was remodeled and the Educational Building and Fellowship Hall were brought into the '90's. These renovations were dedicated on February 8, 1998.

August 29, 1998

Dear Local Historians:

While vacationing in Montreat, NC I was contacted by Mrs. Evelyn Martindale Thom. As you will learn in her letter to me, which is enclosed, she grew up in Vidalia while her father served as Pastor of the Presbyterian Church. Mrs. thom and I talked at length on the phone and she promised too write and share some more of her memories.

I believe she lived in the house now occupied by Tom Moore, CPA.

Very truly yours,

Jay (Signed)

cc: Mr. Bill Warthen, Mrs. Mary Baker Rice, Mr. Ben Austin, Mr. Bill Ledford, Mrs. Katherine Jenkins, Mrs. Emily K. Hartz, Mrs. Dusty Gres, Mrs. Kitty Peterson.

The Reverend Jay Warthen
Vidalia Presbyterian Church
Vidalia, Georgia

Dear Sir:

Today at the Post Office I picked up a copy of "This Week in Montreat" and saw the editor's mention of the Presbyterian Church of Vidlia, Georgia. He mentioned your frequent stays at Montret through the years. Vidalia, Georgia, rings a bell in my memory; it is anme I have not thought about in many years. When i was a child, my family lived in that town for four years (1924 to 1928, I think), during which my father was pastor of that church which is now yours. My father was Charles O'Neale Martindale, Jr. The mention of Vidalia has set my memory working!

I should tell your first that my husband and I own a house at montreat at 106 Kanawha Drive, have owned it now for ten years. We occupy the house in June, July, and August; only the downstairs basement apartment is occupied in the winter months. I came here as a child with my parents several times; then as an adult and president of Women of the Church, I came with my family; so I too have known Montreat through the years. I am now 79, my husband 82. He is a retired physician, son of a physician and a tennis enthusiast. Our home in in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (130 Main St, 70801) where we are members of the First Presbyterian Church.

Only once have I driven through Vidalia since childhood; I did not recognize anything. Its fame has come through its onion indsutry. I cannot help hut wonder if onions as a crop has replaced tobacco.

For fun, could I tell you of some of my memories of Vidalia? The 1920s were a long time ago...

In those years our family consisted of my parents, my brother Douglas and me. I had another brother Girardeau who had already grown up and was living and working elsewhere. Douglas was four years older then I was and sometime I must ask him what he remembers of those days. We lived in The Manse, which was adjacent to the church. Both faced the big brick Baptist Church across the street: both churches were on corners on the main street, and a little further down the street was the Methodist Church and a fenced cemetery. It could have been named Church Street with so many churches on it. During my father's tenure there, there was a plan to rebuild the Presbyterian Church, so it was torn down, steeple and all. I recall the piles of stacked lumber on the property. I cannot recall if it was rebuilt during our time there.

The Manse was a two storied house that had a porch across the front (and a swing). Fireplaces provided the heat in each major room. My father had a study on the second floor; it had many shelves of books. It was here that he prepared his sermons and had private conversations with visiting missionaries and ministers. I recall one of these missionaries issuing me a half stick of gum at a time, teaching me frugality probably. It was in this study that my father had his prayer time early each morning.

Across the hall from the study was a big storage room, full of suitcases, trunks, clothing of all sorts, dolls, hats, etc. My mother's beautiful dresses and fancy hats were stored in boxes. One of my chief excitments in those days was playing "lady." My mother's big beautiful hats were trimmed with tuille, ribbons, and flowers. She had small feet (size 5) and bought her shoes from designer-displays when the displays were over. Her old dresses made me feel elegant; I wore her high-heeled shoes and her dramatice hats and pranced about joyfully.

Saturday was Bath Day...every week, to prepare for Sunday. This was done in the kitchen near the black iron stove where the kettle of water heated. The galvanized bath tub was set where the warmth of the stove could be felt. Clean union suits were set out. (How I hated those thing! I vowed that when I got old enough I would never put another drop-seat union suit on!) Come Sunday, we were clean and polished, ready for inspection and ready for catechism and Sunday School.

At six I was ready for piano lessons from the lady acros the street. I also began to go to school. During that year I contracted pneumonia and was consigned to be for six weeks under the care of The Doctor. I got worse before I got better, required the care of a Nurse who prepared mustard plasters for placement on my chest. Those things burned and were very unpleasant, but I got well after they prayed over me a number of times. My illness was even noted in the local (Isuppose it was local) newspaper. Imagine that being noteworthy!

Milk in quart bottles was delivered to our door by a milkman who arrived in a horse-drawn wagon, covered, of course. I was very interested in the driver and the horse. So was my brother Douglas. The horse seemed weel trained as to when to stop and when to go, hardly requiring the use of reins. We asked the driver one day if we could climb into the high seat with him. With an affirmative answer, we managed to get up there on the same seat with him. The horse moved on to the next delivery stop, the driver grabbed a bottle and left us. Douglas grabbed the reins, and off we went, with the milkman running behind us and commanding the horse to stop. I don't remember anything but our excitement. If we were admonished, I don't remember it. It surley was fun!

It was in Vidalia that i saw my first movie. I think it was one of those Charlie Chaplin silent movies in which words appear uner the pictures to indicate the conversation going on. My father took me to the local theatre to see this. It was also in Vidalia that I became aware of the thing called a "radio." The son of one of the church members had a radio, and when we were visiting his family he turned it on for us. I only remember its static. What a long way we have come since then!

A few blocks behind our house was a big warehouse that had the most interesting aromatic smells. We children were allowed to go in when the doors were opened, and we were given all sorts of goodies and small things like whistles. There were stacks and stacks of big tobacco leaves, ready for grading and then auction. I can remember the rich smells even today. I thing there was a railroad track near the warehouse.

A few blocks further behind our house was the school house, maybe a two storied strucutre. Here I began my schooling at age six. Every morning the teacher read from the Bible and said a prayer to begin the school day. I remember liking hte ritual. At recess, our greatest fun was "jump board", a game like see-saw except it was low and a child stood on each end od a board, taking turns jumping and hoisting the other child in the air. Other games we played were hop scotch and one-two-three alara with a bouncing ball.

The most exciting memory of all was that night when the Ku Klux Klan came to town. Hooded in white robes and astride horses, what seemed like two dozen clansmen paraded down our street at dusk. When they reached the cemetery, they tethered their horses to the fence and entered the Methodist Chruch for a meeting. When the meeting concluded, they got on their horses and departed. I never learned what it was all about, but it really galvanized our attention.

See what memories just the name of Vidalia evokes!

It would be fun to meet you and your family some time. Kim Murray thing our daughter and son will do you credit. If you have a picture of your church and you, it would give me much pleasure to have it. May God richly bless you in your work in Vidalia.

Yours sincerely,

Evelyn Martindale Thom (Signed)

Mrs. James A. Thom III