A chorus of voices rang out on the unseasonably warm evening of December 31, 1923 as the members of the newly forming Gooch Memorial Primitive Baptist Church joined together in a joyful rendition of Hymn 548 from Lloyd’s Hymnal—a cappella, since the congregants shunned instrumental accompaniment in accordance with Primitive Baptist teaching:
Planted in Christ, the living vine,
This day, with one accord,
Ourselves, with humble faith and joy,
We yield to thee, O Lord.
Just ten months later on October 4, 1924, they held the first service in their just-finished meeting house, opening again with a song of praise (Hymn 338 from Watts’ Hymnal):
Our hearts and hands hast Thou inclined
To raise this house of prayer;
O, may we seek and ever find
Thy gracious presence here.
Built a few hundred feet from the center of Stem, NC, on a gift of land from Joseph H. Gooch, the church was a small red brick structure with beautiful stained glass windows.
The congregation had reason to be proud. They had performed the construction themselves, and funded the project with donations ranging from fifty cents to $10,000—each giving what he could.
Initially numbering only a dozen members, by the 1950s attendance had swelled to the point that the pews were so closely packed you could barely turn around between them. On special occasions when a noted speaker was present, the doors and windows were thrown open and crowds listened from chairs and blankets on the surrounding lawn.
These big services were often followed by dinner on the grounds, with the better part of the town showing up for the preaching, singing, and, of course, the food and fellowship.
The ensuing decades were not so kind. Like many small country churches, attendance dwindled as younger members moved away for jobs and the “old-timers” slowly died off. A few years ago—with the passing of the last members—the church closed its doors.
Just to the north is the Goss family cemetery, final resting place for generations both contemporary with and preceding the church.
Henry Goss was a founding member and elder of the Gooch church.
On the other side of the church stands the mausoleum of the church’s namesake and builder, Joseph Gooch.
Founding member and elder, Gooch donated $10,000 and the land for the church, and was tasked with its construction.
