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Cropper Christian Church |
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Early History 1885-1985 |
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| In October 1985, the congregation
of the Cropper Christian Church celebrated its 100th year of worship and
service. The sanctuary in the present church structure dates back to
the original building. The building was built by the community for
the purpose of four denominations to worship. Cropper's first church
was known as "The Union Grove Church".
On August 27, 1885, Stephen Hall and his wife Sidney Hall of Shelby County, Kentucky sold one acre of land suitable for religious worship by four denominations: Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, and Christian (Campbellites as they were called then). The Union Grove Church was built on the front part of the acre of land. The land back of the church was used for hitching the horses and was called The Hitching Ground. Later this became The Cropper Cemetery, and is still maintained and used today. The first known school house in this area was built in 1835 on land donated by Mr. Stephen Hall. After the school was torn down the land was sold for the purpose of a house of worship named The Union Grove Church. This tract of land was deeded to Trustees, B. A. Thomas, Sr., H. C. Bird, and J. W. Demaree. After the acre of land was purchased from the Halls in August 1885, a house of worship was built that fall and was dedicated in 1886. Of the four denominations worshipping in The Union Grove Church, the Baptists were the first to leave and they formed the Cropper Baptist Church. There are two lines of thought as to the reason the Baptists decided to form their own church. One source claims it was due to the growth in members the Baptists thought the time had arrived to form a new church. Another source claims the Baptists needed to hold a funeral for one of their members and the Christians refused to postpone a wedding of one of their members. For whatever reason on June 17, 1900 the Baptists separated from the Union Grove Church. The Presbyterians worshipped on the second Sunday at Cropper, soon the time came when the Mulberry Presbyterian Church could not keep a minister due to small attendance. In 1922 the Presbyterians closed their doors at Union Grove Church and joined the congregation at Mulberry. At this time the Christians started worshipping on the second Sunday, as well as the first, third and fifth Sunday. The number of Methodists worshipping on the fourth Sunday at Union Grove Church were very small in number. Their last service in this church was June 4, 1968. Most left to worship with the Pleasureville Methodists. The name of the Union Grove Church was changed in 1967 to the Cropper Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), when the new bulletin board was erected. In 1970 the Disciples began having services every Sunday. This article paraphrased from the "History of Cropper Christian Church, Disciples of Christ"....submitted by Donald Murphy. |