P, The following is a letter by Mr. Ainslie to his mother dated December 30,1871. Bennington was formerly Mt. Pleasant which was, however, a few miles north and was for many years Mr. Copeland's station. Mt. Pleasant was near Boggy bottom and was not considered healthy--one reason for the change. Bennington was also more directly the center of the field. It was built in 1853 and first occupied by Rev. A.G. Lansing. My first visit to it was in company with Brother Lansing and our wives. BENNINGTON CHURCH Bennington Church was organized on October1, 1848, by Rev. Cyrus Kingsbury and Rev. J.C. Strong, who were missionaries to the Choctaws in Mississippi and came to the Choctaw Nation with them on the Trail of Tears. The first elders were John Folsom, William Scott, and Makinta, all transsferred from the Mayhew Church. The Mt. Pleasant Church and Mission was already established and David Perkins was transferred as another elder from there. Uncle William Gardner was ordained an elder in 1877 and served until his death in 1891. Green Gardner (my grandfather), Uncle William's brother, also served as elder as did R.C. Gardner, Sr.; also W.A.Gardner served until his death, then R.C. Gardner, Jr. was ordained and is still an elder. Walter Gardner was an elder until his death in 1968. Now his son is serving in his place. I believe there was only one time since the church was organized when a Gardner was not an elder. This is just one of the many ties that bind us to the Old Church. None of us will ever forget the fine work of Rev. Oscar Gardner, who came out of this Church; also Richard Harrison, who is now serving as Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church at Vivian, Louisiana. Paul

The Bryan County Heritage Ass'n in Calera his the old records of the Old Bennington Church. Tammy