Tugalo Baptist Church, established before 1789 and first known as the Tugalo River Church, was founded by the Rev. John Cleveland, a Revolutionary Soldier, and is the oldest church in what was then Franklin County, an area in Georgia and South Carolina about the size of Rhode Island. It has been called the Mother Church of Baptist churches in this area, and Cleveland became known as the Father of Baptist Principles. Cleveland and the Rev. Thomas Gilbert represented Tugalo River Church when the Tugalo Baptist Association was formed in 1818. The land on which the church stands was deeded to the church by Robert and Sarah (Wheeler) Craig on July 28, 1895, and both the church and cemetery have remained on their original site since its founding. The cemetery contains the grave of Henry Fricks, who was born in 1799 and died in 1901 after living during three centuries.