Sloping hills, green pastures and beautiful countryside are a few adequate descriptions of the local Belah-Fellowship Community. Many of the families who live there today can trace their roots back to the middle 1800’s when the community was first founded. Early history lists families such as the Windhams, Taylors, Ganeys, Parkers, Masters, Mitchells and Thompsons, just to mention a few, among the initial residents. Initially, Belah was called Piney Woods and was the native home of the local Choctaw Indian tribe. The tribe called the area “Bila” which interprets to “greasy”. The name changed many times through the decades but remained true to its origin. Eventually white settlers moved in from Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama and took advantage of the rich soil, available waterways and land availability and started homesteading.