Religion has always been central to life in typical rural Arkansas communities. In the early days, it proved difficult for many worshippers to travel great distances to church, so most communities built their own. Baptist churches became quite numerous in the upper Ouachita River valley area.

Some Baptist churches organized “associations” in order to accomplish goals that individual churches could not do alone, such as mission work, publications, and the like. In the 1800s, many Hot Spring County churches affiliated with the Arkansas Baptist State Convention’s Saline Baptist Association, among the state’s oldest such entities.

Church and Association records can provide a great deal of information about the people of a community or area. Associations usually met at least once a year, and various churches hosted those gatherings. At that time, the Association gathered statistical information about each church and published that data along with the meeting’s proceedings.

As one example, the following is just some of the information from Hot Spring County churches as extracted from the “Statistical Table” of the Saline Baptist Association in 1885: Big Creek Church, Malvern—pastor D.K. McVay; clerk G.W. Smith; delegates J.M. Johnson, E.S. Warrington, G.W. Smith. Damascus Church, Malvern—pastor S.F. Funk, clerk W.C. Norwood, no delegates to associational meeting. DeRoche Church, Bismarck—no pastor listed, clerk S.D. Houston, no delegates. Ebenezer Church, Social Hill—pastor D.K. McVay, clerk L.J. Wiggins; delegates E.W. Gentry, W. Henry, B. Hodges. Franceway Church, Gifford—no pastor; clerk R.E. Clardy; no delegates. Hickory Grove Church, DeRoche—pastor J.M. Sims; clerk W.R. Thornton; delegates W.R. Thornton, W.T. Lumpkins, John Wilson. Lone Hill Church, Social Hill—pastor E.W. Gentry; clerk M.V. Grigsby; delegates Moses Stanley, R. Stanley, W.B. Kemp. Malvern Church, Malvern—pastor R.M. Thrasher; clerk J.M. Clem; delegates R.M. Thrasher, J.L. Hales, J.M. Clem. Magnet Cove Church, Magnet—pastor R.M. Thrasher; clerk R.F. Orr; delegates John Stinson, R.F. Orr, William Adkins. New Hope Church, Lono—pastor S.F. Funk; clerk S.A. Elliott; delegates J.G. Baker, P.P. White, G.W. Funk. Oak Grove Church, Social Hill—pastor D.K. McVay; clerk J.H. Hardy; delegates D.K. McVay, J.H. Daniel, Z.T. McVay. Ouachita Church, Donaldson—pastor R.M. Thrasher; clerk J.A. Marsh; delegates John Nix, Phillip Williams. Pleasant Hill Church, Earl—pastor B.S. Taylor; clerk B.A. Davis; delegates Nicholas Jones, Thomas Southerland, J. Rowland. Reyburn Creek Church, Malvern—pastor R.M. Lindsey; clerk Daniel Wallis; delegates G.W. Carpenter, J.M. Floyd, B.C. Fitzhugh.