In 1942 Draper Independent Baptist Church, lacking a church building, met in the old Union Hall in Draper, Ky. Services were led by Pastor W.W. Nells and later by Pastor George Lynch and Willard Smith. Draper was a mining community with approximately 67 houses, setting in the Cloverfork valley of Eastern Kentucky. Members of Draper Indepedent Baptist Church felt the need to build a church for the community. So on May 8, 1947 Draper Independent joined the Upper Cumberland Association of Missionary Baptists, becoming a Southern Baptist Church, and changed their name to Yocum Creek Missionary Baptist Church. This was accomplished with the sponsorship and mission work of Evarts Baptist Church. A committee was formed to oversee the building of the church. It consisted of Albert White, Earl Elliot, and Leonard Reese. A 99 year land lease was obtained from Dr. P.O. Lewis and Dr. Green, a Pharmacist. Hyman Blevins laid the block for the church. Members pitched in and poured concrete at night after a full day of work in the mines. Ernest White, who was approximately 14 at the time, remembers helping erect the church. The church grew and prospered. Although the name had been changed, old habits were hard to break, and it was the mid sixties before the church was called Yocum Creek by the members and community. In or around 1958 a sawmill was opened beside the church. This caused lots of "mud" and parking problems. Members remember "wading" in over their shoes to get to the church doors. Although the sawmill tried to help with the problem it seemed insurmountable. So in the early 1970's land was purchased in the Middleton Edition of Evarts for a new church building. Drs. Lewis and Green, whom the land was being leased from, donated the Draper land to the Church so they could sell it to the sawmill. The Draper Church was torn down by Harry Harp. After many delays, by the summer of 1973, the new building was finally ready and the membership moved to their new home, where the church still stands today.
photo and information by Rev. C. B. Rezek
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