This amazing and incredibly photogenic church sits quietly amongst the trees in the Missouri countryside.
Memorial was organized in 1904 with 13 charter members. Mr. R. E. Richart was elected as elder and was duly ordained and installed; Philip M. Smith was elected deacon and installed, as he had been previously ordained as Mt. Olive Church. Memorial was dedicated on September 25th of that year. There were 23 members at the dedication. Rev. Dudley M. Clagett of the Lafayette Presbytery, Presbyterian Church in the U.S., was the founding minister. The first pastor was Rev. I. N. Clegg. Rev. Clegg served the church in supply, though, and shortly after gave up the work. In August 1905, a congregational meeting was held to find and elect a new pastor. Unanimously, Rev. J. G. Venable of Kentucky was chosen. "History of the Presbyterian Church in Saline County, Missouri" has this to say about Rev. Venable:
"Unanimously the Rev. J. G. Venable, of Kentucky, was chosen, and an official call was made. Presbytery met at the church May 16, 1905, placed the call in the hands of Mr. Venable, for half his time; Mt. Olive having previously extended him a call for one - half his time; he signified his acceptance of the calls, and Presbytery made order that his installation as pastor of both churches take place on the third Sunday in June, as follows: At Mt. Olive, at the morning service, Rev. E. F. Abbott to preach the sermon, Rev. John E. Abbott to charge the pastor, and elder J. L. Wood bridge to charge the people. At Memorial church, in the after noon, Rev. J. E. Abbott to preach the sermon, Rev. E. F. Abbott to charge the pastor, and elder I. C. Sydenstricker to charge the people. Mr. Venable, being a licentiate of the Presbytery of West Lexington, was then received into the Presbytery of Lafayette, and his examination, with a view to ordination, was proceeded with. It was fully sustained, and after a sermon by Rev. H. B. Boude, D D., of Pleasant Hill, he was ordained by Presbytery to the full work of the ministry.
Rev. Joseph Glass Venable was born in Christiansburg, Kentucky, September 17, 1877. His college course was taken at Central University. Richmond, Ky., class of 1899. He received his seminary education at Louisville Theological Seminary, graduating in 1905. In April, 1905, he was licensed by the Presbytery of Louisville, and was ordained by the Presbytery of Lafayette, at Memorial church, May 16, 1905."
On December 4th, 1904, Dr. Thos. B. Hall and Dr. Thos. A. Smith were chosen as elders and Dr. Geo. P. Smith and Chas. E. Baker as deacons. Rev. John E. Abbott ordained and installed these men on February 16th, 1905. On a sad note, Mr. R. E. Richart, the first elder of the church, passed away on February 9, 1905 at the age of 83.
The stone church building was praised as being "handsome", "modern in appointment", "perfect in architecture". The cost of the building was about $5,000. The plan for the building was obtained from the denomination headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. The stone for the church was quarried only a few hundred yards to the east, from the land owned by a Dr. G. P. Smith. In 1906, the church was described as housing "within its walls, a zealous, happy, and steadily growing organized Presbyterian church."
On August 20, 1904, there was a meeting held by those interested in the stone church that had just been built. Rev. I. N. Clegg presided over this meeting. A vote was taken and the name "The Presbyterian Memorial Church of Napton, MO" was chosen. The following Sunday, August 28, the first service was held in the church and was conducted by Rev. Clegg. At this service, the first ordinance of baptism was administered to Isabella Early Smith, the daughter of Dr. Geo P. Smith and Mrs. Lucy V. Smith.
The book, "History of the Presbyterian Church in Saline County, Missouri" has this interesting blurb concerning many of the trees on the church property:
"The [church] record further cites other interesting facts, among others that there is a row of walnut trees along the road in front of the church, planted by Dr. Crawford E. Smith, son of the General [Thomas A. Smith, who originally owned the land and is buried in the graveyard], in 1850; that the forest trees on the church ground were decrepit; and that on Arbor Day, 1905, practically the entire congregation met there and planted trees and vines; naming them for various persons, living and dead. Four elms were given places of honor and named for Rev. D. M. Clagett, who revived Presbyterianism in the neighborhood; Rev. John E. Abbott, pastor of the Presbyterian church, Marshall, Mo., "who dedicated the building, preaching a magnificent sermon"; R. E. Richart, the first elder in the church; and his wife."(information in brackets supplied by me)
This is by far one of the most beautiful church buildings I have ever seen. The architecture is amazing and the beautiful stone stands in stark contrast to the woodland around it. There are annual homecoming services held in October, and have been held since 1968. I am not sure when the church stopped being used consistently though.
For more information on this church, the history of General Thomas A. Smith and on some of the people involved in founding this church, be sure to check out the book "History of the Presbyterian Church in Saline County, Missouri" on pages 89-95. I quoted from it a couple times in this blog post and a link to the ebook can be found here:
History of the Presbyterian Church in Saline County, Missouri
