Reflections

Hello everyone, hope you’re having a good week.  
After the War Between The States, Springdale was a thriving little Mississippi town with a hotel, saloon, livery stable, several stores and a flag station on the Mississippi Central Rail-road.  Today there is no sign to indicate that it was once home to families like the Goodwins, Hunters, Sneeds, Jumpers and many others. They lived, worked, raised children, farmed the land, worshiped, and were gone by the dawn of the 20th Century.  
Before they left, however, they started something that is the topic of this week’s column: Jumper’s Chapel Congregational Methodist Church,  which will have a homecoming on Sunday, Aug. 24.  
In May 1885, several families met in the home of William G. Jumper with a visiting evangelist named Fly to discuss forming a new church.  The vote carried since William Jumper was highly regarded by everyone. He was a minister and was called to be the first pastor.  He offered a small cotton house for the congregation to meet ,and as a show of love and respect they called the new church, Jumper’s Chapel.  
Not long after, they built a small meeting house which served until the late nineteen hundreds.  By then many of the community had died or moved away and a new location was selected, which is the site of the present church. The original building served until the early 1950s when the present church was constructed.  
Some of the families who made up the large congregation were McMinns, Upchurches, Goodwins, Frenches, Badleys, and Coopers, to name a few. Pastor Joel Jones and Associate Pastor Bobby Jones (no relation) invite everyone interested to attend, whether you have a connection to the church or not.  This is also Pastor Jones anniversary of 29 years at Jumpers Chapel.  
This is one column that is really a labor of love for me, as a descendent of the founder. My email address is cncooper1@hotmail.com or write me in care of the Herald. Have a great week!