Although Sugar Hill was not incorporated as a town until 1939, the Sugar Hill community is much older, located in the Inferior Court District of Sugar Hill in the far northwest portion of Gwinnett County.

The story is that a freight wagon traveling from the railroad in Buford to Cumming broke a wheel while traversing a steep hill, spilling its load of sugar all over the hill.  The hill came to be called, "the hill where the sugar spilled," and that is where the town got its name.

The earliest church established in this area was the Island Ford Baptist Church.  It was organized at the Chattachoochee River where people forded the river, and in crossing traversed an island about half a mile wide.

Island Ford was organized February 23, 1833, and the presbytery included Rev. Silas King, Rev. Richard Phillips, and deacons Joseph Morgan, Sam Crowe and John Hammond.  The charter members were J. T. Bailey, John Barker, John Calaway, A. Humphries, N. Crossno, J. Pendley, W. Compton, J. Compton, M. Fields, T. M. Bagley, E. Bagley, S. Born, Jane Humphrey, Catherine Fields, Susanna Phillips and Mary Bagley.

The first building was erected in 1833 out of rough hewn pine logs.  The permanant buiilding was constructed in 1880.

The Sugar Hill Baptist Church was organized July 10, 1886, with W.W. Blackstock as moderator and J. H. Sudderth as clerk of the presbytery.  The charter members were Margaret Molder, Mary Molder, Augusta Sudderth, S. J. Johnson, Margaret Sudderth, Frances Garner, Mae Riden, Eliza Sudderth, G. H. Sudderth, J. H. Sudderth, Jacob Molder, and E. B. Riden.

This history is a work in progress.  I will be adding more information and photographs, so be sure to check back frequently and reload or refresh!

Sources:
History of Gwinnett County, 1818-1960, Volume II, by James C. Flanigan, copyright 1959

Dynamic Gwinnett, text by Bill Kirby, copyright 1993

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