It is an annual gathering whose purposes are worship, through the singing of Sacred Harp music, and fostering of bonds of fellowship among singers.
Plans were laid for the convention in the fall of 1851 at the home of composer Oliver Bradfield, north of Newnan, Georgia.
With the northward geographic spread of Sacred Harp singing into the Coweta County region, it was felt that the time had come for the residents of this area to have their own convention.
[3] In its early period the convention was four days long, ending on the first Sunday in August and beginning the preceding Thursday.
At the end of the war in 1865 the Convention met again at Mount Zion in Carroll County, Georgia to begin anew; B. F. White and other Sacred Harp luminaries were in attendance.