Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church
 From the very beginning the church has been a singing church, a tradition that began in this community in 1890 at Berry School House when singers from near and far were invited to attend an all-day singing on the First Sunday in May. This singing, very much alive today, includes dinner on the grounds and utilizes the Shape-Note Harmony songbook where voices are blended together with no musical accompaniment.
Written and illustrated
by Bobby Caldwell
Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church, located approximately three miles north of Hickory, was organized September 24, 1904. Members of the Presbytery for this organizational meeting were Revs. Harrison Bruce, W. H. Rainer, Berry W. Rainer, and N. L. Clarke, moderator.
 Original Church Building
Mt. Pleasant (Sixteenth) Church is regarded as the Mother church of Pleasant Ridge and many of the first members at Pleasant Ridge transferred their membership from Mt. Pleasant since the new church was much closer to their homes.
Charter members received at the first meeting were Joseph M. (Moss) Caldwell, Jesse B. Gibbon, Charlie A. Crawford, George R. Jones, Jim H. Cunningham, Martha Leanna (Saterfiel) Gibbon, Lou Ella Caldwell, Susan Tatum, Emily Gibbon, Sallie Cunningham, Laura A. Saterfiel, Mary E. Jones, Sallie Jones, Dona Jones (Holderfield), Cora Jones, and Lena Crawford.
Jesse B. Gibbon was appointed church clerk and J. M. (Moss) Caldwell, already an ordained deacon, was called to fill that office in this newly organized church.
The church unanimously called Elder Harrison Bruce for their first pastor, and being present at the meeting, he consented to do so.
The church also voted to meet the third Sunday of each month for services. This practice was continued until about 1970, at which time the church was able to hire a full-time minister and to provide preaching each Sunday.
The church cemetery is known to predate the formation of the church and is said to have served as a Williamson Family Cemetery at one time. An undated loose paper in the Minute Book of the church (but believed to be written in 1918) directs Bro. Caldwell to sell old wire around grave yard and the same to be put on new.
On December 27, 1913, a motion was presented to purchase an organ for the church. Fourteen members voted yes and five members voted nay. A second vote resulted in an 18-5 margin.
The following pastors have served Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church from its time of inception to the present:
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Harrison Bruce
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1904 -1905
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B. W. Rainer
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1906
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R. K. Cleveland
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1907
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G. M. May
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1908 - 1909
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N. A. Edmunds
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1910
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Z. K. Gilmore
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1910 - 1914
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F. W. Gunn
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1914 - 1915
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R. K. Cleveland
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1915 - 1917
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R.C. Folk
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1918 - 1922
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W. H. Rainer
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1923 - 1925
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Hugh Clyde Bufkin
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1926 - 1934
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W. H. Wood
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1935 - 1936
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A. N. Thomas
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1936 - 1937
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Eghbert A. Breland
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1937 - 1948
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O. V. Swearingen
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1949 - 1968
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Cecil C. Laird
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1968 - 1987
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Leon Everett
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1987 - 1992
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James McMillan
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1992 - 1997
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Winnie McMahon
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1997 - 2003
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Rev. Kent Grice acted as pastor from May through September of 1971 in order that Rev. Cecil Laird could provide missionary work in Chile.
Church members likely met in Berry School House until a simple wooden frame church could be built. This frame building remained their house of worship until 1959 when a modern brick building was erected. A separate building containing Sunday School classrooms was added in the 1970s and a parsonage was built during the 1990s while Rev. James McMillan was pastor.
Other members that affiliated with the church during its early years were the following:
Males
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Daniel Reeves, by letter, 1904
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Joe Reeves, by letter, 1904
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Daniel Faulkner, baptized, 1905
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J. P. Puckett, by letter, 1905
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Willie Williams, by letter, 1907
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W. L. Robinson, by letter, 1907
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Charlie A. Crawford, by letter, 1908
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C. E. Tatum, by letter, 1909
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W. H. Tidwell, baptized
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W. H. Caldwell, by letter, 1911
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G. W. Ishee, by letter, 1911
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R. H. Skinner, by letter, 1911
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M. J. Scarborough, by letter, 1912
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Henry G. Puckett, by letter, 1906
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H. P. Everett, baptized, 1912
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J. C. Caldwell, baptized
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W. R. Everett, baptized, 1912
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Oscar L. Bradley, by letter, 1912
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Luther Caldwell, baptized, 1912
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Earl McDonald, baptized, 1913
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Thad Cochran, baptized, 1913
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R. P. Sadler, by baptism, 1913
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J. T. Caldwell, baptized, 1913
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Luther Williamson, by letter, 1913
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M. C. Tatum, baptism, 1913
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Females
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Vena Jones (Thorne), by letter
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Avia Jones, by letter
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L. B. Chaney, by letter, 1904
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E. J. Cunningham, by letter, 1904
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L. Harris, by letter, 1904
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Leona E. Thompson, by letter, 1904
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M. F. Reeves, by letter, 1904
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Dora Reeves, by letter, 1904
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Allie Reeves, by letter, 1904
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Hester Reeves, by letter, 1904
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Exie Gibbon, by letter, 1905
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Sallie Gibbon, by letter, 1905
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Catherine Harris, baptized, 1905
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Victoria Puckett, by letter
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Jennie Puckett, by letter, 1905
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Laura Jane Puckett, by letter, 1905
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Fannie Jones, baptized
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Charity Jones, baptized
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Bertha Tidwell, baptized
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Belle Cunningham, baptized
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Ella Williams, baptized
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China Gibbon, baptized
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May Boutwell, by letter, 1907
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Edna Robinson, by letter, 1907
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Lena Crawford, by letter, 1908
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Emma Everett, baptized, 1907
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E. Tatum, by letter
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Emma Hearn, by letter, 1908
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Dora Ishee, by letter, 1911
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S. L. Caldwell, by letter, 1911
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Allice Caldwell, by letter, 1911
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Mrs. R. H. Skinner, by letter, 1911
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Mary Jones, by letter
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Mattie Tatum, by letter, 1911
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Florida Tidwell, baptized, 1911
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Ida Scarborough, by letter, 1912
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Jennie Caldwell, baptized, 1912
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Isabell Caldwell, baptized, 1912
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Cora Everett, baptized, 1912
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City Robinson, baptized, 1912
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Viola Caldwell, baptized, 1912
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Opal McDonald, baptized, 1912
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Eula Everett, baptized, 1912
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Nancy Robinson, baptized, 1912
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Alma Harris, baptized, 1912
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Lula McDonald, by letter, 1913
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C. E. King, by letter, 1913
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Ola Caldwell, by baptism, 1913
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Rosa Chaney, by baptism, 1913
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Pearl Caldwell, by baptism, 1913
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Lucy Williamson, by letter, 1913
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Katie Gibbon
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S. J. Greer, by letter, 1913
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Josie Greer, by letter, 1913
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Nannie Greer, by letter, 1913
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J. O. Robinson, by letter
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Terry Cunningham, baptized, 1914
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Catherine Lindley, dismissed, 1906
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Lula Tidwell, baptized, 1908
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Arda Tatum, baptized, 1912
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