On the way to Eakly I spotted a historical marker on the east side of the road and made a point to catch it on the way back towards Anadarko. It is up off the road on a hill and partially obscured by grass and other growth.
The marker reads:
ROCK SPRING BAPTIST CHURCH
1/4 Mile East
First Baptist Church
Among Oklahoma Plains Indians
ORGANIZED 1874 BY REV. JOHN McINTOSH.
CREEK INDIAN. FIRST KNOWN BAPTIST
MISSIONARY TO THESE TRIBES.
First Trip summer 1874 under auspices of
CREEK BAPTIST ASSN.
Sermon text John 3:16. Black Beaver. Interpreter
"This is the Word from the Great Spirit Above
to all His children" -- McIntosh
Naturally we went on down the road trying to locate any remnants of said church. We couldn't find a darn thing visible from the road that looked like it was or used to be a church, but we did see a cemetery on the south side of the road and decided that probably used to go with the church. I should have gotten pictures! When I got home I did some research on Find A Grave and sure enough there is a Rock Springs Cemetery outside of Gracemont. Pretty sure it is the one we passed. I will just have to hit it up another time!
The funny thing is that I have read a few things online that suggest that there is still a Rock Springs Baptist Church (yes, Rock Springs, not Rock Spring as on the marker, but it appears to be the same). I will have to research that more I suppose.
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