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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:
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William
Hurley Henderson
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Woods
G. Gentry
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N.P.
Ashcraft
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H.
Thomas
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Dudley
Enlow
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F.
Smith
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W.B.
Craig.
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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;
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Rev.
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A.
C.
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GOODRICH
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Rev.
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Luther
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SMITH
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Rev.
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James
T.
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SMITH
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Rev.
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W.B.
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CRAIG
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Rev.
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G.T.
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TULL
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Rev.
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G.M.
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WALTON
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Rev.
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R.T.
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COLBORN
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Rev.
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H.D.
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TAYLOR
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Rev.
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J.B.
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ATTERBURY
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Rev.
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H.B.
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RICE
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Rev.
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M.L.
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BIBB
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Rev.
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D.W.
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RIGG
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Rev.
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E.H.
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DUNSING
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Rev.
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K.E.
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MAGRUDER
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Rev.
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George
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GLASCOCK
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Rev.
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J.R.
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INLOW
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Rev.
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I.M.
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TURNAGE
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Rev.
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F.D.
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WESTON
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Rev.
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E.D.
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DAWSON
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Rev.
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Gordon
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WHITESIDE
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Rev.
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A.M.
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CRAIN
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Rev.
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Oatis
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DIXON
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Rev.
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Gordon
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NEELY
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Rev.
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DUNHAM
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Rev.
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POLSTON
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Rev.
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Tully
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ACHORD
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Rev.
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SKINNER
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Rev.
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Billy
Joe
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BAUNGARNER
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Rev.
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Fred
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HOLMES
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Rev.
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Harry
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TURNBULL
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Rev.
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John
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SULLIVAN
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Rev.
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Charles
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SCHULTZ
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Rev.
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John
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PRUETT
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Rev.
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Hugh
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YEATER
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Rev.
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Colverin
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POFF
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Rev.
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Hugh
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WILSON
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Rev.
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Bob
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HOEHN
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Rev.
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Jim
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SWON
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Rev.
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Bob
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GOWEN
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Rev.
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WADE
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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.
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