Churches Collinsville Baptist Church was organized in 1837 as Rocky Mount Church, with Elder John Gilliland as moderator and Harris Brock the first clerk. Baptist Church in DeKalb County, it has had four structures, and presently is housed in the one built in 1928. This structure is on the mound where Al made his home.
1837 to 1845 records indicate the Baptist association held a difference of opinion on the mission responsibility of the church. In 1845, a group agreement and organized the Baptist Church of Christ Pleasant Grove. They were W.C. Mynotte, Aaron Hancock, James Mitchell, Harris Brock, Joe B Goggins, T.B. Watts, Jessie Glazner, Van Hall and others. In 1896 the Pleasant Grove Church changed its name to Collinsville Baptist Church. The churches were very strict. They did not allow absence from church, swearing, drinking, telling a falsehood or anything unbecoming to a church member.
The church was concerned with the souls of the slaves. By 1866, the church had 17 African Americans enrolled. In 1872, the African Americans organiz of their own and in 1896 when Pleasant Grove changed its name to Collinsville Baptist, the African American church took the name of Pleasant Grove.
After the slaves were freed and the Civil War was over, they met in a home to sing and pray and give thanks for their freedom. When the house wo them, they built a brush arbor and later bought land and built a log hut. Then they came into possession of the Van Buren Methodist church vacated b congregation. Turner Kerley, the pastor, and others dismantled the old church and moved it to a site beside Little Wills Creek at the edge of town. Pleasant Grove Baptist Church.
Collinsville United Methodist Church was organized in 1869 at Van Buren under the leadership of Captain D.C. Williams and Colonel Moses Newm was near the end of what was later known as "Newman's Lane", 1 and ¾ miles from Collinsville. In the spring of 1880, after the railroad came through C summer school was organized in Collinsville by the Rev. M.K. Clements, assisted by Miss Della McWhorter. That fall the Van Buren church moved to and met in the school house until in 1883 when T.J. Pyron and his wife, P.E. Pyron deeded to the trustees of said church their home place at the foot now the Cochran Hill.
Here a church building was erected even though the area was low and susceptible to flooding. Big rains would send flood waters racing into the sometimes standing two feet or more deep on the floor damaging the carpet, the organ, and sometimes a service or two was missed.
bought on South Valley Street and a building costing approximately $2000 was built. That building burned on Thanksgiving Day in 1922 and was replaced by the brick building that is still in use today. Some early pastors were: W.B. Pattillo, I.Q. Melton, Dr. W.C. McCoy, Rufus Nicholson, S.L. Dobbs, P.K. Br Horton and R.C. Thompson. Soon after the Civil War, Collins Chapel Methodist was organized.
In 1904, a Presbyterian church was organized in Collinsville. They bought the lot and two-thirds of the building at the foot of Cochran Hill th Methodist had vacated. Van Buren Lodge #355 F. & A.M. of Collinsville owned a one-third interest in the frame building, constituting the upper story used as a lodge room. Many members from Beulah Chapel Presbyterian Church at Copeland's Bridge transferred their membership to Collinsville. 1908 a new church building was erected on South Valley Street and today remains much the same as when it was first built. C.C. Jordan and Mrs. La assumed a large part of the financial support for the construction.
The white frame building following Gothic lines was listed in the Alabama Registry of Historical Places in 1976. Original to the building are three stai windows which are in memory of Dr. A.J. Vann, Zubie Vann, Christie Jordan and Henry Small. In 1994, two stained glass windows were added in me Stanley, Mabel, and Ollie Brindley. In 2013, another memorial window was added in honor of George W. Keener.
Other churches within the city limits of Collinsville are: Calvary Church, the Church of Christ and Big Valley Church of God.