The Hinton Rural Life Center, named in memory of Georgia businessperson Harold Hopkins Hinton, was founded in 1957. A hunting and fishing lodge being built by Hinton at the time of his death was bought by Velma and Walter Moore and donated to the Clay County Methodist Church. By the early 1960s it became a non-profit corporation and eventually became the property of the United Methodist Church.
Center staff were involved with such groups as the Appalachian Development Committee of the United Methodist Church and the Commission on Religion in Appalachia. The Center sponsored conferences and seminars, established volunteer and youth programs, and served as a religious retreat center. Two directors of the Center, the Reverend Harold McSwain and the Reverend Doyce Gunter, were involved in the idea of cooperative ministry that allowed parish members a stronger more participatory voice in governance of the church, therefore contributing to parish renewal and growing membership.
From the description of Records, 1958-1978. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 191916915
