In the early 1800s, settlers of Scots-Irish and Indian ancestry began moving into this area, homesteading small tracts on public domain lands of poor sandy soil and rugged terrain. According to tradition, the old church was built as a house of worship for the local community, which by 1915 was known as Europe. Members of the England, Bolan, Payne, and Nicholson families moved the building here from Holmes Chapel. The one-room church measured 24 by 27 feet and was built of logs hand-hewn by Bud Holmes, Josh England, Jim Nicholson, Dick Payne, and others. Its original floor was made of hand-hewn poplar planks as wide as 48 inches. Beginning around 1920, that flooring was stolen over a period of years, so a new floor was built about 1940. The roof was originally made of hand-split wooden shingles and was later replaced with tin. The first pews were hewn from solid slabs of poplar trees. Pine Torch took its name from the blazing pine knots used to light services after dark and then to light the way home afterward. Some say the old building was also used as a one-room school. Today, Pine Torch is considered the oldest standing structure in Bankhead Forest, and decoration day is held on the fourth Sunday in May.