The History of the Unionville Baptist Church
Though the current Unionville Baptist Church was officially organized as an autonomous congregation in 1908, a clearer understanding of its origin is better grasped by learning about the history of an earlier, yet related, congregation that was known by the same name.
Local Baptist settlers from various parts of our Nation had been meeting in this area since the 1840s, but it was not until the mid-1850s (1854 by the majority of historical accounts) that an actual Baptist congregation was organized. This congregation was known by different names such as the Unionville Baptist Church or the Baptist Church of Unionville or the Missionary Baptist Church (as opposed to being a Primitive Baptist Church) of Unionville. That church would meet for worship in local school houses such as the Clancy Schoolhouse and the Miller Schoolhouse, as well as various homes such as the home of John Wesley Clancy who was a Tennessee Baptist and is believed to be the first legal white settler of Appanoose County.
A church building was finally built on the west side of Unionville around 1856 (depending on the source), but right when the building was being finished it was destroyed by a fire and the congregation was back to meeting in homes and schools. Soon, the tumultuous events surrounding the War Between the States were at hand and it even affected this congregation. Many within the church were politically divided and it seems that there were multiple small Baptist congregations formed in the neighborhood at this time because of those divisions and as a result of those conflicting ideologies. Some of these members, like John Clancy, would move on to later form the Udell Baptist Church which existed from 1895-1932.
When the war was over and our land was healing, the small surviving congregation who remained to be known as the Unionville Baptist Church finally began to thrive. They built a building in 1884 four miles northwest of Unionville on land deeded to them by Mr. and Mrs. Will Bishop. The exact location was on the southeast corner of the intersection where 286th Avenue and Highway J3T currently meet and was cattycorner from where the MIller Schoolhouse once stood.
In those days of primitive transportation, a large number of church members who lived in the city of Unionville desired to have a local congregation of their own. So, as found in the very first page of the records of the current Unionville Baptist Church, a meeting of the members of the original Unionville Baptist Church was held on January 17, 1908 and it was decided to make a separate church organization at Unionville. Twenty-three members would make up this new congregation. Three deacons, a clerk, and a treasurer were selected. Bro. Owens was asked to be their first pastor, the historic New Hampshire Confession of Faith as drafted by J. N. Brown was adopted, and it was decided that the official name of this new and separate church would be the Baptist Church of Unionville. The congregation that existed northwest of town eventually became known as the Miller Church (see picture of smaller white-framed building) and this was more than likely because of its proximity to the Miller Schoolhouse.
The Miller Church, also referred to as Miller Baptist, held services until the 1970s when the congregation eventually disbanded but its affiliation with the current Unionville church was always strong.
Though the new congregation at Unionville was organized in 1908, they did not have a building of their own until 1922. On the very location where the Unionville Baptist Church stands today there was once a Presbyterian church building. It was built in 1871 but by 1920 the Presbyterian congregation no longer existed and the land and building had become the property of Ann Miller who deeded it to the young Baptist congregation who wanted land of their own. The old Presbyterian building was then moved not far west of where it was built, was renovated and used as the city's first Legion Hall, and was later used as a gym before the school gym was built.
The current church building of the Unionville Baptist Church was built in 1922 and has gone through many building improvements since, including a remodeled basement, the addition of a fellowship hall in 1979 and the completion of an enlarged foyer in 1994.
The Unionville Baptist Church has seen an entire town change and age all around it and yet it stands steadfast as a symbol of God's continued workings in this earth. It still holds to the same Confession of Faith it was organized with and still preaches the same gospel it always has. Many have been this church's faithful members, several pastors have served during that time, it has survived the Great Depression, and many of those children who once attended its Sunday Schools were sent off to various wars. The church has also survived many attacks from Satan himself through the years...but with God's help the Unionville Baptist Church will continue to bring glory to God.
Our current Pastor, Josh Davenport, was called to that office in 2015. Since that time, our church has experienced steady growth.
