One Hundred and Eighty-Five Years
Duck Springs Baptist Church was organized in 1841 and named, like the community around it, for the springs nearby.
On April 17, 2016, the church marked its 175th anniversary. Wendell Dutton of the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission presented a certificate during the morning service. Church members displayed records dating to the 1840s, along with photographs and artifacts, and the old bell in the tower was rung. Members of the congregation compiled a written history and handed it out that day.
In 2026 the church enters its 185th year.
This page is still being written. If you have photographs, documents, or memories of Duck Springs — or a copy of the history booklet handed out in 2016 — we would be grateful to hear from you.
Sources and Further Reading
If you are researching Duck Springs — the church, the community, or your own family — these are the places we have found. All are free.
Our anniversary, documented
- “Duck Springs Baptist Marks 175-Year Anniversary” — The Alabama Baptist. Reports the April 17, 2016 service, at which Wendell Dutton of the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission presented the church a certificate. Records dating to the 1840s were displayed and the old bell was rung.
Where to search for more
- The Alabama Baptist Digital Archives, Samford University — the newspaper, digitised and keyword searchable, covering 1843–1865 and 1873–1914. That is the church’s founding era and first seventy years. Free.
- Church & Synagogue Records Database, Alabama Department of Archives and History — indexes minute books, registers, baptism records, membership letters and church histories. Searchable by denomination, county and keyword.
- Alabama Religious Life Digital Collections, Samford University — photographs, conference minutes, and association records.
- The Place Names of Calhoun and Etowah Counties, Alabama by James Louis Jolly, Jr., University of Alabama — traces the Duck Springs name, and records that a settlement here was among the most significant in what is now Etowah County.
Still looking
Two things we have not laid hands on yet, and would be grateful for:
- The church history compiled for the 175th anniversary in 2016 and handed out that Sunday. The Alabama Baptist credits Mike and Bailey, Donna and Danny Guest, and Elizabeth and Wayne Stephens. If you have a copy in a drawer, we would love to borrow it.
- An article in the Gadsden Times by Harry Butler, written around our 174th anniversary.
Old photographs, bulletins, programmes, or family records connected to Duck Springs are all welcome. Get in touch.