Old Independence Church was originally built for all denominations near the campground across the road from its present site, but the Methodists organized a membership, claimed the church, and won the resulting court case with young lawyer Robert Toombs defending them. Its beginnings were around 1783, and it became a Methodist church in the 1830s. In 1840, Thomas L. Wooten deeded the lot on which the old church building stood to the trustees. In 1870, that church building was sold to black people, who moved it to land given them in Tignall. A new church building was erected, and in 1871 Bishop George F. Pierce preached the dedication sermon. A Sunday school celebration in 1879 drew almost 1,000 attendees, and Dr. A. G. Haygood, president of Emory College, delivered the address. The church has been remodeled many times, with a Church School Annex added in 1930 and a Fellowship Hall built in 1974. Many prominent county families have belonged to the church, and several people were licensed to preach there, including Reverend J.W. Hinton, D.D., a preacher and writer of national fame.