Waynetown Baptist - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

Kruger, Anna – Waynetown, June 27 – The Baptist Church here will observe its 10th anniversary July 7 the Sunday falling nearest the date of its organization.  Rev. IC Overman, pastor the past 8 years will preside. The program will include Sunday school, morning and afternoon sessions with guest speakers and playlets and noon dinner. Rev. CR Brown, Kokomo whom Rev. Overman succeeded will be the evening speaker. The first church in Montgomery County was Sugar Creek Baptist organized in Crawfordsville in 1823 the same year that city was laid out after the first government land in the county had been entered in 1822, the first white settler, William Offield, having come to the county in 1821.  There soon were fiver other pioneer Baptist Churches in the county.  Among them was Bethel on Coal Creek, organized in 1827 at Middletown, now Waynetown with meetings in home.  On Christmas day 1829, land for Bethel Church and a cemetery which ante-dates the town, was given by Samuel Mann, who platted Middletown in 1830 and his wife, Nancy and Philip and Mary Blackford Moore.  Joseph, son of the latter couple, was the first white child born in Wayne Township.  The cemetery, long disused, was reclaimed and is maintained by the Flower Lovers club.  Ingersoll’s filling station, across the road, stands on the site of the church building which was moved to the farm of the late Dr. AN Hamilton.  In 1832, Bethel, membership, 27 and four other Baptist Churches comprised the Sugar Creek association.  Bethel’s “messengers” were David Rusk, Joseph Jones and Joseph Washburn.  The church building, with window and door frames all finished by hand was complete by 1836.

In 1839 differences arose and Bethel, commonly called “Hard Shell” Baptist, excluded quite a number of members for their belief in missionary work being of unsound doctrine.  In Crawfordsville was young William Pratt, a preacher sent from NY by the Home Mission Society. He remained in the Wabash Valley country seven years and once said to the late EH Edwards he thought his mare, Betsy, knew every Baptist corn crib between Delphi and Vincennes that being the day of the circuit rider and his saddle bag.  July 4, 1840 Mr. Pratt and Baptists agreeing with Bethel’s Old School or Regular Predestinarian Baptists, organized another, the present Missionary Baptist Church, now a part of the Tippecanoe Baptist Association. There were nine charter members: Jesse Grenard and wife, Parmelia; John W. Dimmitte and wife, Rachel; William Putnam, Elizabeth Putnam, William Grenard, Emeline Washburn and “Aunt” Anna Washburn who lived to be 99 years old. At the time of her death she was the last surviving charter member.  She and other pioneers of Wayne Township were buried in the old cemetery.  Church records to 1852 when there were 122 members, were accidentally burned, so that the story of the organization of the Missionary Baptist and its building form a church legend.  The organization meeting was held in Bethel Church and the new church’s meetings were held there six years until it erected its own building.  April 3, 1846, Mr. and Mrs. John Osborn deeded a lot, now occupied by the Wayne Hotel and civic buildings to trustees for a church building.  Oddly, the deed was not recorded until 37 years later.  The church was well built of good material into a plain, square building. Benches were of heavy poplar and a partition as high as the backs of the seats divided the house in the center, women occupying the east side, the men the west. The Pulpit was between two doors in the south end of the building. On the walls were brackets and along each aisle were tall pedestals for candles. There was no bell, usual announcement being that evening services were to begin “at early candle lighting.”  Minutes of Nov 24, 1860, state: “A public collection will be taken to buy coal oil lamps for the church.”  Mr. Pratt was the first minister, Rev. DS French the next. Sept 11, 1859 the Rev. CJ Bowles became pastor.  In 1873 Rev. Reese David held a successful revival. Mr. and Mrs. John A. Fouts and Mrs. Samantha Grenard are the only survivors of a group Baptist by Mr. Davis in Feb that year. The baptism was in a hole chopped through ice covered Coal Creek those immersed walking a block or more to a residence to change to dry clothing, no one becoming ill.

Increased membership required a new church.  Oct 9, 1875, the old church and ground were sold for $1,000.  Two lots of East Walnut Street were contributed by Mr. and Mrs. Matthias Brant and on the lots a two-story church was erected and dedicated Aug 12, 1876.  Again on Feb 11, 1877, Mr. Bowles, then an elder, rededicated the church in a meeting patterned after King Solomon’s dedication of the temple.  That year a storm wrecked the belfry and moved the south end of the church 18” from its foundation.  The building, considered unsafe was used until 1903. In April that year the present modern brick building was planned and by May 2, $3,325 had been subscribed.  Dedication was on Aug 24, 1904.  Present membership is over 400.