McAnaly_RedLickChurch_Shootout

THE GUN BATTLE

These were the events that brought to an end "The Church of the Red Lick Fork of Station Camp...." A church that had stood for a hundred and fifteen years...Blood was spilled on hallowed ground that day. Fear and bad memories would haunt the hearts of all who bore witness and the already notorious reputation of Bloody Red Lick would become legendary.
Even the modern day circuit riders (traveling evangelist) shunned such places. For even in the most remote of the rural areas, this type of news spread like wildfire and people were slow to forget. Only the infinite knowledge of God himself and the healing hands of time can cover such scars, chase away such ghosts of the past, and heal such wounds. After that day, there was no Red Lick Baptist Church until 34 years later.
Taken from "THE HISTORY OF THE RED LICK BAPTIST CHURCH' by Michael Adams.

Mr. Charlie Abney is known for being quite a historian of the Red Lick community. Charlie was born in 1917 and his wife Ruthy in 1922. Charlie's historical knowledge was amazing and Mis Ruthy had a few stories of her own. As a small child, she could remember playing in the old abandoned church house with her late brother, Ruford Turner.
"We lived in what was known as Hobb Dolly house which was located about a hundred yards above the old church and cemetery. There was a couple of small chairs that we used to go inside and set in. We'd scoot up and down the isles and push each other in them. They were hand made of coarse. One of the chairs had a back that was thicker that the other. The were just tiny little chairs made especially for children."
Charlie remembered the old building as a child and has known many people that attended the old fashion services that were held there. We're able to visulize a pretty good image from his description. "The old church was built out of logs and had a board roof on it. The wooden pews were actually old hand hewed benches with no backs on them.
They had windows with no glass in them, but they were covered with shudders. When the weather was good and it was warm outside, they would open the shudders and let the breeze blow in. they used an old wood stove for heat in the winter time. Folks that didnt even normally go to church would meet with their neighbors there and socialize."
Wether or not the graveyard itself was there at the time the church was built or established is in question, but it very well could have been. Rubbings reveal that several of the stones mark the resting place of folks born in pioneer era of the 1700's. Many old graves are marked with only a stack of rock or a single large stone. Many cemeteries were started near churches, so it is also possible that the building was erected first and the cemetery followed.
The oldest legible tombstone in the cemetery belongs to Jane Tunstall (Dec 1742-Dec 1822). She was the wife of Rlichard Tunstall Sr., the grantor of the deed and mother of Richard Tunstall Jr. Who signed as a witness on the deed. There is a Richard Tunstall (1766-1851) buried very close to her, but not beside her, in the same older section of the cemetery. The natural age difference and location of the grave would suggest that this is her son, Richard Tunstall Jr.