Mill Creeek Baptist Church

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     The Mill Creeek Baptist Church is located in Anderson Township
of Clark County  Illinois  or  about  nine  miles south and a little
west of Marshall, Illinois.

     On  March  4,1876  twelve  members in good standing of the
Freedom Baptist Church were granted authority by said church in its
regular business meeting to oranize a Baptist Church at the Choctaw
School. Their membership at the Freedom Church  was  to terminate
when the new church was organized.  The Moderator of this meeting was
Thomas McCollum and  the  Clerk  was  John  G. Harner.  The members
were as follows:

                George Eckels           Edward Huffington
                Mary Ann Eckels         Olive Johnson
                Andrew Flemming         Harriet Huffington
                Louisa Flemming         Thomas McCollum
                Catherine Gregory       Jane McCollum
                Sarah Smith             Elizabeth Zellers


      On April 15, 1876 a council convened at the Choctaw School for
the purpose of organizing a Baptist Church.  Serving on this council
were Brother Asa Smith, Moderator; Brother Francis Esley, Clerk;
Brother Squire Mundy; Brother Daniel Davis; and Brother L.Y. Black.
The Mill Creek Baptist Church was constitued with twelve charter
members.

      For eighteen years they used the log building of the school
which was located about thirty rods down  the  road from  where  the
church  was  built.  The present Choctaw School is now across the
road from the church.

      In  1894  the  present  building  of  the Mill Creek Baptist
Church was erected on land donated by Mr. and Mrs. John Ledermann.
The vestibule and the belfry were built in 1900.    It is said that
many times  a  preacher  would come  into  the  community,  go  to
the home of one of the nearby members, they would ring the bell,
then  about  an hour  before  the  service light the lamps, and by
service time the church would be  full  of  people,  this  without
prioir knowledge that the preacher was coming to conduct a service.

      The  Mill  Creek  baptist  Church  has ordained four ministers:
J.C. Craig in 1900;  Frank Ammons, December 12, 1954;  Bert  Eckels,
date  unknown; and James Turnicliff, date unknown.

      The  church  celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding
with a homecoming in 1976.

      At  a  business  meeting  of  the Mill Creek Baptist Church on
April 13, 1980, a motion was made, seconded  and carried  that  the
doors of the church be closed.  It was also voted to sell the
contents of the church and give the money  to  the Baptist Children's
Home at Carmi.  Later in the summer at a farm sale the contents of
the church  were sold  and  a  check in the amount of $1,640.00 was
sent to the Illinois Baptist State  Association  for  the  Baptist
Children's Home.

      Ministers who have served the church are as follows: L.Y.
Black, S.T. Reynolds, J.G. Vickers, George Eckels, B. Stephens, Elihu
Stanberry, W.P.  Andis, J.N. Poe, B.F. Hayes, J.C. Craig, W.P.
Chamness, J. Turncliff, L.G. Fasig, James Paddock, R. McCroy, Bert
Eckels, W.N. Babb, Brother Mitchell, Harry Conrad, W.A. Howell, M.V.
Gilbert, J.T. Combes, Grant French, J. Claypool, Hugh Russell, W.A.
Fuson, Dale Rhyne, Clebert Weger, Jessie Gettings, Chester Chilton,
O.B. Salmon, Tommy Martin, Frank Ammons, Bob Phillips, Gaylord Green
and Glenn E. Arbuckle the last pastor.

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