This collection contains original records from the Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church in Bowdon, Georgia. Four minute books contain minutes for the church's monthly meetings, and they cover the years 1844 to 1989. Each book lists the Primitive Baptists' beliefs, titled as the "abstract of principles," at the beginning of the book, and they all include member lists on the last few pages. The member lists were updated as people died, moved away, or were excommunicated, and every decade or so, a new list was created. Along with the church's minutes, there are original land records for both the church and its school. The deed for the church dates from 1858, and the school's deed is dated 1912. The deed describes the boundaries of the church's land, but a map was drawn in 1917 that is included in the collection as well. In 1989, the church agreed to sell half an acre to the government for highway improvements, and a folder contains the documents for this transaction. The hymn book used by Primitive Baptists, The Primitive Hymns, Spiritual Songs, and Sacred Poems, has gone through many reprintings, and three copies are in the collection. One has lost its front page, but it appears to be from the mid-nineteenth century. The other two were printed in 1947 and 1975. The Little Vine Primitive Baptist Association of Georgia began in 1952 and was held annually. The hosting congregation rotated, and minutes are included for the two years (1958 and 1964) that the Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church held the meeting.