A Brief History of Cerro Gordo, Chadbourn, Grist, And the Mt. Moriah Community Compiled by the Eighth Grade Chapter of the Tarheel Junior Historian Association of Westside High School Chadbourn, NC 1961-62

Mount Moriah is a community about five miles west of Chadbourn, NC on highway#76. Settlements have
centered mostly around the church and the school that was in recent years consolidated with Westside of
Chadbourn, NC.

The Mt. Moriah Church from which the community gets its name is the community’s chief center. It was built
as a log church in the early 1880’s and rebuilt in 1894 partially as it is today. The inside has been remodeled
several times. The church has been highly regarded in religious circles and leadership. It is one of the oldest
churches in its Association.

People who were interviewed mentioned some of the following persons and families as great contributors to
the religious and moral life of the community: Messrs: F. S. Inman, D. F. Hill, F. Nance, L. Williams, D. Davis, J.
Inman, the Browns, Williamses, Lewises, Smiths, Mr. Callis Brinkley, the Davises, Lennons, Rushes, Tarts,
Wards, Towns, Melton Williams, and many, many more.

Another important building in the Mt. Moriah Community still standing and that was erected in the late 1880’s
is the old Mt. Moriah School building. Most people in the community received their elementary education
here. Many students who attended school here have done well in the high schools and colleges of the state.

Many recalled the days of the following school personnel at Mt. Moriah: Rev. D. C. Gore, Mr. And Mrs. Ford of
Mt. Olive community, Mr. Ezra Lennon, Mr. J.P. Troy, Mrs. Flora Inman-Leach , Mrs. A. Faison, Mrs. Versie B.
Towns, Miss Pridgen, the Jones’s, Miss M. McNeill, J. B. Brown, Mr. H. Pridgen and others.

“The above information was mostly given by Deacon Callis Brinkley about one month before his death in the
year 1962. He was the oldest living Deacon of the church. He also stated that Mt. Moriah’s first pastor was
Rev. Bartley Williams. The pastor now is Rev. Sam Stanley.”