The Separate Baptist faith was organized in Boston, Massachusetts, arising out of the Great Awakening, a religious revival among the Christian Churches between the 1730's and the 1770's. From the Separate Baptist faith came the Regular Baptists who rejected "modern" methods which included missionary and educational auxiliaries seminaries, and temperance societies of the church. Most of the Regular Baptists came from the New Salem Association of United Baptists in eastern Kentucky in 1825. The Regular Baptists changed their name to "Regular United Baptists" in 1854, then to "Regular Primitive Baptists" in 1870 then to "Regular Baptists" in 1871, and to "Old Regular Baptists" in 1892. Many of the Old Regular Baptists hold the same doctrines and theologies as that of the Primitive Baptists, primarily that "by Grace are ye saved through faith." A key belief that makes the Primitive Baptist faith unique is a belief in predestination - that God, before the world began, knew the fate of all of humanity, setting in place circumstances and conditions that could not be altered. However, each person is responsible for the sins he/she may commit while here on earth.

The Primitive Baptists, also referred to as "Old-School Baptists" or "Hardshell Baptists", arose out of the anti-missionary controversy that divided the Baptist Church with the adoption of the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions of 1814. In context, the word "primitive" means "original" as the members attempted to restore what was thought to be original practices of Christianity, such as baptism by immersion, family integrated worship, closed communion, a cappella singing, and feet washing.

Although the numbers and influence of the Primitive Baptists in Iowa have been small when compared to other religious denominations, the church members were the first of any faith to organize a congregation and or bring the Gospel to several counties in the Iowa Territory.

Accused of adovcating false doctrines and practices, Elder John LOGAN was excluded from the Crane Creek Regular Baptist Church [of the Spoon River Baptist Association of Illinois] Elder John LOGAN came to Danville, Des Moines County, Iowa in 1833. On October 20, 1834, Elder LOGAN founded a Primitive Baptist church at Danville, the Long Creek Regular Baptist Church. However, due to Elder LOGAN's "loosely formed" practices and previous spiritual history in Illinois, this church was not "officially" recognized as the first in the Iowa Territory by some church historians.

NOTE: Evidently Elder LOGAN's "loosely formed" practices refer to the split within the Baptist Church arising from differences of opinion regarding the modern mission system which Elder LOGAN embraced. The Long Creek Regular Baptist Church was re-named the Danville Baptist Church.

According to church historians, it is believed that Big Creek Church, which was located near present-day Mount Pleasant, was the first orthodox Primitive (Regular) Baptist Church in the Iowa Territory. This church was founded by Elder William M. MORROW (1805-1883), the first Baptist minister to settle in the territory.

Elder MORROW came from Clay County, Kentucky to Missouri in 1819. After moving to Marion County, Tennessee and residing there for three years, Elder MORROW came back to Missouri, eventually settling in Macon County in the Spring of 1831. The neighborhood called the "Morrow Settlement" was named after him. Elder MORROW went on to work within the Western Association of Iowa, then moved to the State of Oregon where he died.

Of the founding of the Big Creek Church, Elder MORROW later wrote, "In June 1835, I and Elder James GHOLSON, then on an exploring expedition from Illinois, commenced ministerial labors in this new country; some of my relatives, with others of the Baptist order, had settled here early in the spring of that year; in the autumn following, I removed and settled in that place. Elder Samuel HUTTON soon followed me, and in August 1836, at the house of Brother C. JONES, we, with others, were constituted into a church, by the name of Big Creek; our number at first was sixteen."

Elder GHOLSON moved back to Illinois in 1845, uniting with Little Flock Church in Jo Daviess County. Later, Elder GHOLSON moved to Wisconsin where he worked in the lead mines. He died in Lafayette County of Wisconsin on April 22, 1850.

The Little Cedar Creek Church was established in August of 1838, Van Buren County, Elder Thomas HOWELL as pastor. It was a member of the Salem Association of Regular [Primitive] Baptists of Illinois, also in 1838. In 1848, the church was renamed as The Round Prairie Regular [Primitive] Baptist Church. The church ceased to exist around the year 1920 with the last of the congregation uniting with the Des Moines River Church near Eldon during September of 1921.

In Jefferson County, Elder Samuel HUTTON preached the first sermon at the home of Brother James LANMAN in March of 1839. Brother LANMAN was the first white settler in Jefferson County and a charter member of the Fairfield Church. Records from the Round Prairie Church show that the Fairfield Church was established as early as August of 1837.

The West Liberty Church, also known as the Stone Church, was organized near Sperry near Des Moines County in February of 1840. The congregation erected a stone church in 1847 using rock from a nearby quarry. The church was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in April of 1977.

In February of 1840, the Lynn Creek Church was organized near Trenton, Henry County, Iowa.

The Lick Creek Church in Van Buren County was organized around June of 1840.

By 1841, the Big Creek, Little Cedar, Lick Creek, Lynn Creek, Fairfield Baptist Churches, West Liberty Church, and the Des Moines River churches formed the Des Moines River Primitive Baptist Association along with another Baptist church located in Mercer County, Illinois.

In 1846 Elder John M. EVANS was the first minister of any faith to preach in Madison County, Iowa. He not only preached the first funeral, officiated the first marriage, Elder EVAN also helped organize the first church of Madison County. From these humble beginnings arose the Western Baptist Association, comprised of seven churchs: Village Creek, Oak Hill, Rock Creek, Oskaloosa, Little Flock of Marion County, Little Flock of Wapello County, and Providence of Polk County. The first session of the Western Association was held in October of 1852 at the Oskaloosa Church with Elder EVANS as the first moderator. Later, Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church at Grinnell and Middle River Baptist church of Winterset joined the association.

Toward the end of October of 1854, The Hazel Creek Baptist Association was organized at the Hazel Creek Church of Schuyler County, Missouri. Six Baptist churches from southeastern Iowa and northeastern Missouri belonged to this association: Fox River and Oak Hill Churches in Iowa; Hazel Creek Baptist Church near Greentop, Missouri, with others from Schuyler, Adair, and Putnam Counties of Missouri.

The Mount Pleasant Baptist Association was organized in Polk County, Iowa, on September 14th and 15th of 1855 at the New Bethel Church on the "Keokuk Prairie." Within ten years, this association had grown from the three charter congregations of the Des Moines, New Bethel and Mt. Pleasant Chuches to thirteen parishes. The Liberty Church of Grinnell joined the association in September of 1870. The Mt. Zion Baptist Church, located near Chariton in Lucas County, was a member of the Mount Pleasant Baptist Association.

The Turkey River Association ws founded during the second weekend of June, 1859. Congregations for Fayette, Franklin, Bremer, Black Hawk, Floyd, and Cerro Gordo counties belonged to this association.

In 1860, the Siloam Baptist Association was organized with churches from Missouri, and Decatur, Wayne, and Ringgold Counties in Iowa. When the association no longer existed, the surviving congregations united with the Hazel Creek Baptist Association in 1892. The Bethlehem Church of Delphos, Ringgold County, Iowa, was a member of the Siloam Baptist Association.

The Missouri Valley Baptist Association was organized by three churches, Council Bluffs, Liberty, and Pacific City of Pottawattamie, Fremont, and Mills Counties of Iowa in November of 1877. Several Baptist Churches in Nebraska later united with the association. Early ministers to congregations of this association were Elders Thomas JENKINS, Anthony E. McKNIGHT, William L. JONES, and Isaac SKELTON. Records of the Missouri Valley Baptist Association are presently kept at the Primitive Baptist Library, Carthage, Illinois.

SOURCES:
www.carthage.lib.il.us/community/churches/primbap/FamHist-Ringgold.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Regular_Baptist
CATHCART, William, D.D. "History of Iowa Baptists." The Baptist Encyclopedia. 1881
http://pblib.org/pbl.html
www.newrivernotes.com/nrv/primitiv.htm
"Chapter One" of Historical Sketches of Iowa Baptists. 1886 on Des Moines County's IAGenWeb site
    Transcription by Constance Diamond
BENEDICT, David, D.D. The History of the Baptist Denomination. p. 845. 1848

Unveiling photograph courtesy of Library of Congress
Church steeple photograph by Sharon R. Becker, May 22, 2009
Compilation and submission by Sharon R. Becker, May of 2009