Ashland’s New Prospect Church marks 75 years

New Prospect Baptist Church, Ashland, in Clay Baptist Association is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.

In the early days, church members met in a one-room schoolhouse with a wood-burning stove. The building was donated to the church by the school’s trustees in the early 1940s.

In the years since, the church has added educational space and central air and heat have replaced the old wood-burning stove. The latest addition of two new Sunday School rooms was two years ago.

Walter and Clois Gravette have been members of New Prospect Baptist for more than 50 years, and he serves as the only deacon.

“We’ve got a wonderful little church,” Clois Gravette said. “It’s small but it’s all in one accord.”