Our Story

A Brief History of Manly Church

When the Raleigh-Augusta Rail Line reached this area in 1874, the area that we know as the Southern Pines, started develop. The train had to stop every15-18 miles for water for the steam engines. Due to this need, goods came in and raw products shipped out, and people from the northern states came for the mild winters.

Manly Church was built in 1879 and was the first church building in the area. By 1887 there were 4 additional churches built in what we call “downtown” Southern Pines.

The church, as it stands today, it much like the original. A simple white wooden building with a high roof and a call to worship bell. It is exciting to think of how many people have walked through these doors and worshiped here for 139 years.

Written by Marcia Bryant