Baker's Creek Presbyterian Church was organized in 1796 on a plot of land provided by Samuel Henry. It is the fifth oldest church in the Union Presbytery of Eastern Tennessee.
In 1798, a log church building was constructed. It was built in the form of a cross. The pulpit was located at one arm of the cross. In the opposite arm was a storage area for the arms carried by the worshippers to repel the attacks of hostile Indians. A second sanctuary was built in 1836; it was used also as a schoolhouse. A third building was erected in 1876; it is still serving the community: when it was dismantled to make room for the present church (erected in 1949), the lumber was used to construct a local barn. All four sanctuaries were constructed by the members of the church.
A chartered cemetery adjacent to the church has served the community for nearly two centuries. A special memorial marks the resting place of Elizabeth Paxton Houston, mother of Texas and Tennessee Governor Sam Houston.
Baker's Creek Church took its name from Daniel Baker, an early itinerant preacher who held revivals in the area. Baker's Creek and Gallaher's Creek churches formed the "Tennessee Congregation."
The first regularly ordained pastor was Joseph Lapsley who was ordained at the church on May 17, 1806. In 1810, John Gloucester, a recently freed slave, was ordained at Baker's Creek and sent by Union Presbytery to serve as a missionary at the first African church at Philadelphia. Another early pastor, Isaac Anderson, founded Maryville College. Anderson was criticized by evangelist Baker for using "raisin water" instead of wine for the Lord's Supper.
Records of the Session (board of directors or trustees of the church) date back to 1816 and show that the church has been a vital part of the Brick Mill Community for nearly two centuries. Although membership reached a peak of 226 in 1828, the congregation has remained small; despite its size, it has always exercised an important role in the area.
In order to keep up with the demands and opportunities of the expanding frontier, the Presbyterians and the Congregational churches agreed in 1801 to make it possible for local congregations of both denominations to unite in particular individual localities. The Presbyterians had a tradition of college- and seminary-trained ministry and strict governmental procedures while the Congregationalist were much more casual about clergy qualifications and organizational procedures. It is not hard to see that these differences might have caused problems for the 1801 arrangement which had been made primarily for convenience' sake.
By the 1830's these problems were visible and the "old school" Presbyterians resented the possible threats to Presbyterian traditions. Union Presbytery was largely "new school," committed to working with Congregational groups whenever that seemed the best procedure. In 1837, the Baker's Creek delegate to the Union Presbytery withdrew the church from the Presbytery in protest. The "old school" church, largely pro-slavery, maintained their own national organization until a reunion with the "new school" churches in 1868. Throughout most of the 19th century, Baker's Creek had a racially integrated congregation. Black members were both slaves and free.
Some of the problems which the church addressed in the 19th century include swearing, dancing, living in neglect of religion, conduct unbecoming a Christian, and making and overindulging in "spirits." By 1895 the church had sent one of its "sons" (William McClung) to seminary to prepare for the ministry, and into this century it has responded to the more complex and demanding needs of an ever more troubled world through its connections with the church in its regional, national and international missions. Baker's Creek Church continues to serve the community and the world through the dedication of its friends and members, and provides a warm welcoming, fellowship and home for all.
