Madison County - Genealogy Trails
Madison County Churches
Antioch Church
A rural Christian Church located in the east central part of St. Michael Township. Built 1824 with George
Nifong, Joseph Bennett, James Marshall and their families as the first members. It was the first church of this
denomination in the county. Named for ancient Antioch in the Book of Acts (11:26). Said to have been the place where the disciples of Christ were first called Christians.
Another Church of Christ located in the southern part of St. Micheal Township, was organized in 1898. (Goodspeed 560, McFarland).
Bethany Church
Rural Baptist Church (of the United Churches of Jesus Christ). Located in the northwest part of Polk Township. Named for Bethany in Palestine, the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. (Brown)
Bethel Church
United Baptist Church in the southern part of Castor Township. A favorite Bible name. Brown)
Beulah Church
Rural Baptist Church in the southwest part of Liberty Township. Was organized 1851-1886, and given this common church name by the founders.
Beulah (Hebrew be'utah) literally means married (said of a woman), and is a term applied to Israel (Isa. LXII:4), a short form for Beulah Land. (Schulte, Brewington, Manser, Tong)
Big Creek Church
A Baptist Church in Big Creek Township. The oldest in St. Francois Association. Organized in 1835 at the home of Carter Graham and the first Pastor was Henry McElmurry.
It was named for Big Creek (q.v.), the principal stream in this region. Doubtless because the church members were baptized in Big Creek. (Douglas I 477, Tong, Hamlett)
Black Mountain Church
A General Baptist Church established in 1897. Was named from Black Mountain (q.v.), near which it is located. (King, La Plant), (Watts)
Castor Church
A Baptist Church organized in 1845. By Elders Graham, Settle, and Eaton in the home of Henry Whitener on Castor River (q.v.), for which it is named. Located in what is now the east part of Marquand Township in the Whitener settlement.
It was later moved to Marquand. (Douglass I 476-477, Tong, Goodspeed)
Ebenezer Church
Rural Baptist Church in the eastern part of Central Township. Ebenezer is a Hebrew word meaning "stone of help" (I Sam. 7:12). It is a common name for churches.
The church was organized in 1874 by F.M. Holbrooks and others. (Andrews, Tong, McCann)
Greene's Chapel
A rural Christian Church in the eastern part of Liberty Township. Was named for Reuben Greene, a prominent man of the community. (Brewington)
Little Vine Church
A General Baptist Church in the western part of Central Township. Little Vine is a common name for churches, especially for the Baptist denomination.
The church was organized in 1846 with twenty one members. (Douglass I 477, Ellis, Deguire, Brewington, Hamlett)
Mary Parkins Memorial Church
The Methodist Church of Fredericktown in the central part of St. Michael Township. Organized in 1837.
The lot was donated by Colonel William Newberry and the first church built in 1879.
The present building was built in 1903.
Funding started with $3,500 from Mary Parkin, in whose honor it was named. (Missouri Methodism 422)
Miller Chapel
A rural Methodist Church in the northern part of Marquand Township. Named for Rev. Miller, an early pastor of the church.
J. J. W. Miller came in 1811, entered land in 1855 during Pierce's Administration.
C.W. Miller now lives on Marble Creek. (Stephens, Price)
Moore's Chapel
Rural church in the western part of Big Creek Township. Was named for Wesley Moore, an influential citizen in that community. (Schulte, Mouser, Brewington)
Mount Gilead Church
A rural Methodist Church in the northeast part of St. Michael Township. Was organized about 1890, and named from the famous mountain east of the Jordan River, the scene of the covenant between Jacob and Laban (Gen. 31:48). (Watts)
Mount Zion Church
Methodist Church in the central part of St. Michael Township. Established in 1835. Cf. Zion. (Douglass I 452)
Mt. Pisgah Church
Rural Baptist Church in the north central part of Twelve Mile Township. Was organized about 1880.
Pisgah was the mountain from which Moses viewed the Promised Land (Deut. 3:27). (McCann, Andrews, King)
Oak Grove Church
Rural Baptist Church in the eastern part of St. Francois Township. Name sake of its location in a grove of oak trees (Quercus). (Cooper, King)
Providence Baptist Church
The church was organized "at or near Fredericktown" in 1814 by Elders Thompson, JohnFarrar, and James E. Welch.
Whether this church disbanded entirely or became the beginning of the First Baptist Church of Fredericktown in 1870 cannot be ascertained. The church is no longer in existence. (Tong 125, Douglass I 201, History of Missouri Baptists 26, 7)
Reed's Bend Church
Rural church in the Reed's Bend community. Named for the prominent settler, Jim Reed. (Andrews, Schulte)
Rhodes Chapel
Rural Methodist Church in the southern part of Liberty Township. Named after King David Rhodes, a prominent man in the churchand community.
K.D. Rhodes is the son of Peter Rhodes who came to Missouri about 1815. (Price, Conard, Goodspeed)
Shady Grove Church
A rural Baptist Church in the eastern part of St. Michael Township. Was organized in 1854, probably named for the location in a grove of shade trees. (Tong
Snowdenville Church
A rural Presbyterian Church in the northern part of Marquand Township. Was named for Professor J. F. Snowden, teacher, pioneer settler and landowner in this community, who contributed largely to the erection of this building. (Stephens, Mounce)
Spring Valley Church
Rural church, Methodist, in the eastern part of Castor Township. Named after its location in a pleasant shady valley through which flows a spring, known for its good water.
It was organized soon after the Civil War. (Whitworth, Price, Stephens, Combs)
St. Francois Church
A rural Baptist Church in the western part of St. Francois Township. Was organized in 1825 by William Street and John Farrar and named for St. Francois River near which it was located.
Probably in which stream the new members were baptized. (Douglass I 201, Price, History of Missouri Baptists, 25, 26)
St. Michael's Church
The Catholic Church of Fredericktown. It was originally established in 1802 in the village of St. Michaels by the French families who came here to Mine La Motte and dedicated to St. Michael, the Archangel (cf. Jude 9, Rev.12:7), to whom early christians gave the care of their sick.
Whether the church was blessed on St. Michael's day or was dedicated to the patron saint of one of the members, we do not know.
The village was also named St. Michael's (q.v.). (Goodspeed 446, Cath. M.R., Rothensteiner)
Twelve Mile Church
Rural Baptist Church in the northeastern part of Twelve Mile Township. Organized prior to 1885 by Judge E. L. Graham at his home on Twelve Mile Creek (q.v.), from which it was named. (Tong)
Union Church
Rural Baptist Church in the eastern part of St. Michael Township. Was organized by Rev. Levi W. Revelle.
So named because it was built by the united efforts of the entire congregation, who donated all materials and labor. (Watts, Price, Goodspeed)
Wesley Chapel
AMethodist Episcopal Church in St. Michael Township, six miles west of Fredericktown. It has existed for at least one hundred years.
It was named for John Wesley (1703-1791), founder of Methodism. (Price)
Zion Church
A Baptist Church in the southern part of Central Township. Organized before 1870 and named for Jerusalem.
Zion was a hill in Jerusalem, the sight of the regal residence of David, and as the center of Hebrew worship has come to be synonymous with the city itself.
Source: The State Historical Society of Missouri
Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
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