Randolph County, Missouri - Chapter 20: Early Churches, 1920

The first church was organized in Randolph County on the third Saturday in August, 1819, by the Primitive Baptists under the name of "Happy Zion," afterwards changed to Silver Creek. In the following month this church united with the Mount Pleasant Association organized at Mount Pleasant, Howard County. Thereafter churches were organized at Mount Harmon, Mount Ararat, Pleasant Grove, Dover and Little Union, located one mile north of Huntsville, organized in 1828. These churches were likewise Primitive Baptist churches and all except Silver Creek church are not extinct.

About 1835 the Baptist church split and organized separate congregations known as the Regular or Primitive Baptists and Missionary Baptists.

Mount Pleasant College was erected and the building completed between 1855 and 1857. A school of 150 pupils was established, the chapel of the college was used by the Missionary Baptists at Huntsville from and after that time until the building was burned in 1882.

In 1858 the Mount Vernon church. Missionary Baptist, was organized. Prior to 1868 Dark's Prairie church was organized and held its meetings one mile north of Clifton Hill until 1868, when the congregation moved into a new church structure in the village of Clifton Hill.

In 1871, Good Hope, Missionary Baptist church, was organized and, no doubt, there were other Missionary Baptist churches in the county prior to the Civil War, but we have no data as to when these churches were organized.

In 1834, Providence church, Methodist, was organized at the residence of S. J. Johnson. In 1836 this congregation held its services at the Johnson school house and in 1846 they erected Old Providence church and called it the "Twelve Corners." In 1878 a new church building was erected.

Antioeh Christian church was apparently the pioneer Christian church of Randolph County. This church is noted in that it sent into the ministry several preachers of conspicuous ability, namely: Henry H. Haley, Thos. Haley, E. J. Lampton and Alexander Proctor. The two last named were eminent preachers. Neither the one nor the other were narrow or sectarian, but were eminently liberal with respect to members of other churches. Alexander Proctor, in the opinion of the writer of this article, was one of the great if not the greatest religious teacher that Missouri has ever sent forth. He was too broad and charitable to question the Christianity of any other church member or its efficacy. For thirty-six years he was pastor in the Christian church at Independence, Missouri, and died there recently.

The Sugar Creek Cumberland Presbyterian church building was erected by the congregation already organized in 1840. This church stands about two miles north of Moberly and was there standing when the tall prairie grass waved over the site of the present city. The church was organized in 1834 by the Rev. Samuel C. Davis.

Mount Hope, Cumberland Presbyterian church, was constructed in 1874. The congregation had been organized as a church sometime prior thereto.