W.E. McLeod's church history of Lawrence and Randolph Counties was written in 1944, following a year of much research. So far as is known, the first Baptist preacher to preach in Arkansas was George Gill, a Kentuckian, who came with Col. William Stuart and family to the village of Lawrence (Later Davidsonville). After a few days, they continued their journey westward, cutting their way as they went. Col. Stuart had slaves to do the cutting.

In the 1820's on invitation of some devout Lawrence county woman, Rev. David Orr of Missouri came to the county and remained and preached several years in what is now Lawrence and Randolph counties. Mr. McLeod came to the conclusion that it was before 1823 a church was organized and the log building with its split log seats was erected a short distance east of Old Bethel Cemetery. (Name will be in Denton's history later). It died down in a short time, but in 1828 was reorganized by Rev. David Orr. There was just one kind of Baptist then, but in the 1830's they separated into missionary and anti-missionary commonly called "Hardshell". The missionary group withdrew, leaving the anti-missionaries in possession of the building, and the name was changed to Bethel.

As stated before, the area of the future town of Smithville was a wilderness at the time that first mentioned church was organized. Uncle Johnny Goodwin (great great uncle of DMB) attended the church and was converted there in 1823. When the church died down, he joined a Baptist group in the Smithville area which probably met in the Old Solomon School building, but it died down. Both church groups reorganized in a few years.

School was taught in the Bethel Church but the date of the beginning is not known. It is known that two Smithville teachers, Maggie Davis McLeod and Jasper N. Hillhouse taught there, the latter in 1875. That was probably the last, as the adoption of the present constitution in 1874 made it compulsory for the state to provide a system of schools for all persons from the ages of six to twenty-one. Many school buildings were erected in a short period of time.

John C. Bilbrey and Amos Bratcher migrated to the Smithville area. Dates are not available on the arrival of Mr. Bratcher, but it is known the men were very good friends and members of Bethel Church. They were among the ones who promoted the annual ingathering of people for miles around and the date was the first Sunday in May. Avo Baker, 95, is probably the only one living who attended those special days. She states that was the day for the ladies to wear their new summer hats and their prettiest frilly dresses. The morning church service was rather long and ended with a foot-washing. Afterwards, dinner on the ground followed by a period of visitation with people whom they had not seen since the year before. They also had a short church service in the afternoon.

Mrs. Ed (Gladys) Bilbrey has several minutes of the associations her great grandfather, Amos Bratcher, attended. In 1901 the Primitive Predestinarian Baptist Association met at West Plains, Mo. and John C. Bilbrey and Amos Bratcher were deiegates from the Bethel Church. They probably rode the Smithville mail hack to Imboden and rode the train to West Plains. Delegates represented churches from Elem Fork, Texas, Caney Creek, Tennessee; Drakes Creek, Kentucky; New Hope, Illinois; Richard Creek and Out Look, Georgia. Mr. Bilbrey was on the program committee to select ministers who would speak at the four day session. Bethel extended an invitation for the association to meet with them in 1902, and the invitation was accepted.

By 1907 the Bethel Church was disbanded. This was due to the large crowds attending the nearby New Hope Church, Rock Cove, Pleasant Grove and other churches with more modern buildings and seats. It was then John C. Bilbrey and Amos Bratcher financed and erected a frame church building on the southern border of the Bilbrey farm near the present modern brick home of Van and Marida Bilbrey Deeter. The church was named New Bethel, and delegates attended the association at Poughkeepsie and invited the next association to meet with them.

The Primitive Predestinarian Baptist Association met at New Bethel Church September 17-20, 1908 at Smithville, Arkansas. First order of business was the appointment of Amos Bratcher and John C. Pearson, Elmo, Ark., W.E. Reagan of Gion, J.D. Reagan of Sidney and C. Johnson of Smithville. C. Johnson is not remembered by anyone in Smithville but it is known that a Johnson farm was across Cooper Creek from the Bratcher farm. Our near neighbor, "Uncle" George Davis, invited my parents, M.C. "Neil" and Ora Alexander McLeod to attend a certain service, which they did. I was almost four years old and remember two things about the event. First, it was the nice new homemade seats and the other was when sitting on my father's lap near the close of the service, I observed my first and last footwashing. When making an inquiry as to whose feet "Uncle" George was washing, the reply was "Gordon King" and I knew him from that day forward.

Probably due to the Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian churches in Smithville 2 1/4 miles away, 11/2 miles south to Raneys Chapel Methodist Church and the death of John C. Bilbrey in 1912, the church died down. His grandson, Ed Bilbrey, 79, remembers the church had double doors and they stayed closed seven or more years before the Bilbrey family used it for a hay barn. A few years later it was torn down. This was the termination of the Primitive Predestinarian Baptist Churches in this area.

Dula McLeod Baker

This article was taken from the Lawrence County Historical Society Quarterly, Spring 1991, Volume 14, Number 2. The information on this page may be used for historical and genealogical purposes and not for financial gain. Any use must be accompanied by written permission of the page owner and this copyright must appear with the article.
Jeri Helm Fultz