St. Clair County Missouri
Churches

Coon Creek Baptist Church

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COON CREEK BAPTIST CHURCH

Early History from St. Clair County Library files:

In 1840, Dr. D.R. Murphy organized Coon Creek Baptist Church in St. Clair County.
This probably took place in one of the homes of the Coon Creek settlement. The church was
named after the nearby stream. A log school had already been built so services were held there.
In late 1841 or early 1842, a log church building was built on a tract of land a short distance
up the hill from Puckaway Spring. It was a long, low structure, sitting East and West,
about 20 x 40 foot, with two rooms under one roof, a passage between the rooms, closed on
the North and a door in the South end. A large fireplace was in the West end of the building.
Seats were hewn logs, the floors were slab, the roof was wide boards of rough lumber and
the windows were small panes of glass.

The necessity for a larger, better building was realized, so a site near the original log church
was chosen. But, then came the Civil War and there was strife and uncertainty.
Some moved into other states to escape the danger, property was destroyed and records lost.
After the war some of the organized believers met. In 1872 they built a new frame church
on Allen’s Prairie near Allen Cemetery.

In 1886 the railroad was built and the town of Collins originated. A Baptist church was
organized in Collins. Rev. W.P. Wright urged the consolidation of the churches and they voted
to consolidate and voted to keep the name “Coon Creek Baptist Church”.

The united church purchased a site where the present church stands and built a white frame
structure. In 1920, under the leadership of Pastor Dell Wynkoop, the building was torn down
and a new brick veneer church was built. It consisted of a sanctuary with two classrooms
and a basement.

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St. Clair Co., Missouri Library Files:

The Physical Growth of Collins
The Coon Creek Baptist Church -- The church was organized in 1840 and named from the
stream of water nearby. The membership in 1841 was 101. It was most beautifully located
on a rising eminence in the midst of what is known as Allen’s Prairie, in one of the finest
agricultural and best cultivated sections of the county. It is also one of the oldest churches,
and from its position commands one of the most extensive and pleasing views to be found
anywhere in this section of the county. Some of the pastors of the church were:
Rev. L.R. Ashworth, Rev. J.T. Wheeler, Rev. W.B. Senter, Rev. V.B. Burgess,
and Rev. John T. Metcalf. In more recent years, William Birdsong was ordained on
May 16, 1937. Rev. Woodrow Rosecrans on November 7, 1937, and Austin Hensley on
February 19, 1939. The present church was built in 1893.

Submitted by Mary Zeiler