Mount Prairie Missionary Baptist

Mount Prairie Baptist (Missionary) Church, on section 13 of Jefferson Township, was constructed as a church on April 15, 1837, the original members being William Conrad and wife, Sarah Scobee (also called Sallie), the great great great grandmother of Cloyce Menefee and Zelmajo Menefee Ragsdale of Holliday, Elmira Lee, Emily Hesket, Sarah Morton, James Dixon, Catherine Utterback, Matthew Walton, Henry L. and Hannah Houston, Lucy White and Celia Ann Conrad. The picture show is the last building erected by the congregation in the summer of 1859 and stood until it was finally removed in the spring of 1990. The church had been closed for a number of years. The write-up in the 1884 history of Monroe County valued the building at $300. Early pastors in those days were:

William Hurley Henderson

Woods G. Gentry

N.P. Ashcraft

H. Thomas

Dudley Enlow

F. Smith

W.B. Craig.

The membership in 1884 was nearly 60 members.

The first meetings were held in a log building. The location of the church is in the southeastern corner of Monroe County in a wooded area on a county road north of Highway 154 and east of Florida. A small part of the church grounds were taken by the Corps of Engineers when Mark Twain Lake was built when the Clarence Cannon Dam was built.

Adam Utterback served as deacon from May 1841 to October 1873. In June of 1937 Ordination of Deacons was held at Mt. Prairie Church with pastors and deacons from neighboring churches assisting. Ordained that day were Christopher C. Scobee, Christie S. Menefee, Charles A. Miller, Albert Rouse and Robert Parks. Rev. E. D. Dawson was the pastor. All are now deceased.

Pastors through the years have been;

Rev.

A. C.

GOODRICH

Rev.

Luther

SMITH

Rev.

James T.

SMITH

Rev.

W.B.

CRAIG

Rev.

G.T.

TULL

Rev.

G.M.

WALTON

Rev.

R.T.

COLBORN

Rev.

H.D.

TAYLOR

Rev.

J.B.

ATTERBURY

Rev.

H.B.

RICE

Rev.

M.L.

BIBB

Rev.

D.W.

RIGG

Rev.

E.H.

DUNSING

Rev.

K.E.

MAGRUDER

Rev.

George

GLASCOCK

Rev.

J.R.

INLOW

Rev.

I.M.

TURNAGE

Rev.

F.D.

WESTON

Rev.

E.D.

DAWSON

Rev.

Gordon

WHITESIDE

Rev.

A.M.

CRAIN

Rev.

Oatis

DIXON

Rev.

Gordon

NEELY

Rev.

 

DUNHAM

Rev.

 

POLSTON

Rev.

Tully

ACHORD

Rev.

 

SKINNER

Rev.

Billy Joe

BAUNGARNER

Rev.

Fred

HOLMES

Rev.

Harry

TURNBULL

Rev.

John

SULLIVAN

Rev.

Charles

SCHULTZ

Rev.

John

PRUETT

Rev.

Hugh

YEATER

Rev.

Colverin

POFF

Rev.

Hugh

WILSON

Rev.

Bob

HOEHN

Rev.

Jim

SWON

Rev.

Bob

GOWEN

Rev.

 

WADE

 

Mt. Prairie Church was a mission minded church with an active Sunday School and B.Y.P.U. church-wide offerings and gifts were given for foreign, home, state and district missions, believing in the spread of God’s ministry in this way. Sunday School picnics were held at the park and fish frys were held at Salt River.

Through the years the church saw many changes: kerosene lights to gasoline and then electric lights when power was installed in 1939. In 1902 a board fence was built around the church yard and in 1906 hitch racks were added.

The iron fence that was around the first Monroe County Court House in Paris was purchased and placed along the front and east sides of the church and cemetery in 1867.

Services were held once a month with business meetings held on Saturday afternoon before. The pastor stayed in the home of one of the various parishioners Saturday evening and was a guest there on Sunday, being served dinner.

Jeptha Scobee served as S.S. Superintendent for many years. In 1915 Mr. Dave Scobee served. Beginning in 1927, Robert Parks was the superintendent. Sunday School was held during the summer months, beginning in April, until good weather ceased in the winter months, because of bad roads, serving the remainder of the active years of the church.

In April, 1905 Mr. Stephen Henry Scobee and Mr. Adolphus J. Utterback were appointed to investigate the title to church grounds.

When regular ministers were not present the Church kept in touch with the Hannibal-LaGrange College, Hannibal, Missouri, and a student pastor was sent. The revised membership in 1960 was about 85 members.