"Years before there was a church in this area, the Sacred Harp Singers would meet at people's houses and sing. And then, later, they used to meet at an old schoolhouse which was called Johnson School and it was located on what is now Highway 674. But it disbanded and it was reorganized here at this church, the best that we can find out, on the 5th Sunday in May 1924" — Author unknown
This hymnal is the only one known to have been used in frontier Florida. Although there was no church nearby in the 1850s, the settlers would gather on Sundays to exchange news and to sing from this ancient book.
The four shaped notes — Fa, Sol, La, and Mi — were meant for those who could not read music.
These photographs are primarily drawn from The Sacred Harp Sing, a slide and tape show created by the Florida Folklife Program. Photographed at the Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church on October 29, 1978 in Old Chicora, Polk County, Florida.
These documents and audio recordings are drawn from The Sacred Harp Sing, a slide and tape show created by the Florida Folklife Program. The recordings include interviews with members of the Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church and songs collected by Peggy Bulger on October 29, 1978 in Old Chicora, Polk County, Florida.
