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West Creek Baptist Cemetery
Old Stagecoach Road
Owner:
West Baptist conference, renovated and maintained by the Maurice River Historical Society, with the permission of the conference.
 General Information:
Church was built here in 1792, but the congregation disbanded in 1857 and in 1885, the structure blew down. The only remnant of the church is a large stone, now standing upright at the cemetery entrance, which was the church doorstep. For many years grown up in brush and weeds and nearly invisible from the road, now cleared, signs erected and some flowers planted. Significance:
It is the burial place of Capt. James Riggins, Revolutionary soldier, who commanded the militia at the only Revolutionary skirmish in that area. It contains the bones of the ancestors of several of the most prominent families of that area, many of the names being common today in the Township. Description:
The church and cemetery lot measured 20 rods (330 feet) deep and 12 rods (198 feet) along Stagecoach Road, when deeded. The property adjoined that on which the old West Creek School stood. Once surrounded by a fence, the cedar posts are the only reminder today, and many of them are gone. An estimate-was made of 100 graves, in 1949, but many of the stones have since been stolen. It is probable that there are also a large number of unmarked graves. |