After the Civil War from 1861 to 1865, during Reconstruction, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Rising Star, Alabama, was burned. Members W. A. (Willis) Stewart and Nannie Stewart sought a place where they could worship as they pleased, and in 1882 they came to Hopkins County with their seven children and ex-slaves, Abraham and Chloe. Stewart bought 301 acres and built a two-room dogtrot house northwest of this site, where the family continued its custom of evening singing, prayer, and Bible study, and soon neighbors joined the services. In 1883 the Rev. Felice Johnson, a circuit rider, baptized Mollie Bagget in the Stewart home. When nine more converts joined in 1884, Stewart received permission for services to be held in Oakland School. In 1896 Mrs. M. A. (Aunt Polly) Young gave this two-acre site for a church, and Stewart and his Uncle Frank Herman drew the plans and, with community help, erected the meetinghouse. The congregation continued to grow, and Stewart served as church elder until his death. During services in 1944, a fire started in the church loft and caused extensive damage, but the fellowship repaired the structure, and Oakland Cumberland Presbyterian Church continued to serve the area.