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Calvary ChurchWith the coming of the railroad after the Civil War, new mission churches were started in the resort areas emerging along the line. Tallulah Falls grew into an extremely popular tourist attraction once the rails reached the Gorge. In the early 1880s, St. James Mission was founded near the falls. The town of Mt. Airy, located at the highest point on the Southern Railroad between New Orleans and Washington, D.C., became another vacation destination. Mr. M.C. Wilcox built what was called “the finest hotel north of Atlanta” across from the station. On October 24, 1882, Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox gave Lot 1 and Marie Elliott White gave one half of Lot 2 for the site of a new Episcopal mission to be called Calvary Church. Calvary continued as a mission even after Mt. Airy declined as a resort. In 1914 another group began meeting in a home in Alto and by 1923 applied to the Bishop for status as St. Michael’s Mission. It merged with Calvary in 1928. In 1951 Calvary Church in Mt. Airy was sold and the congregation moved to Cornelia on November 18. It remained a small but active congregation during World War II. Meanwhile, Grace Church suffered from isolation due to wartime travel restrictions and the decline of older members of the church, who had kept it alive since the early 1900s. Services were infrequent and it was only through the concern of the members of Calvary Church that Grace continued to exist. In the summer of 1950, 20th Century Fox came to the are to film “I’d Climb the Highest Mountain”, the story of a Methodist minister’s wife and her struggles to adjust to life in the backwoods. Grace Church was chosen as the location for one of the opening scenes. The film company gave the church a coat of paint for the occasion, which may have save the life of the old structure by aiding in its preservation. Beginning in the mid-1950’s, an increasing number of retired people began settling in the area, many of whom were Episcopalians. Membership increased, services began to be held regularly, and in 1964, a parish house was completed. Its design was in keeping with the older structure. In 1966, the Kollock families, with the help of Reverend James Henry, gave the cemetery property and site of Holy Cross Chapel to the church. |