Wright Chapel was born in the early to mid-1800's to a group of believers who began holding services in open fields, homes, barns or wherever Christ lead them.  There's very little documented information about the early years of Wright Chapel Church.  Residents of the area who had ancestors that experienced the early years have passed on and many stories about the church have been forgotten and lost.  There are, however, a few remaining documents that give a limited understanding for the church's beginning.

In 1851, the trustees of the church purchased a small piece of property for $5.00, a moderate amount for that period in history.  What is unknown is; was a church building ever built on the property?  One event that adds to that mystery is when a large encampment of around 22,000 Union troops moved into the area between Gravelly Springs and Waterloo in January of 1865, property destruction was widespread.  With this large number of Civil War solders, there was a huge need for large amounts of food and lodging so almost all wooden structures, including churches, were dismantled for lumber to be used for shelters and firewood.  If a church building was built in the 1850s for Wright Chapel, it was most likely destroyed by solders.