Smith Creek Baptist Church

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The Smith Creek Baptist Church was formed on August 6, 1756. The area that is now known as New Market was called Crossroads because it was at the intersection of the area’s major north-south and east-west roads. A community had emerged around this intersection to serve the needs of the numerous travelers who passed through and of the locals who relied on these roads to export their markets.

Several of the members of this fledgling community were members of the Baptist denomination and helped form Smith Creek. The families that were involved were Aldersons, Newmans, and Harrisons. Their church building was built along Smith Creek so they could have easy access to the waters they needed for immersions.

Around 1778, Edwin Young donated a plot of land in the heart of what is New Market to the congregation. On it they constructed a new, log meeting house. In 1833 that building was replaced by a new brick building. This structure was used as a hospital during the 1864 Battle of New Market and was heavily damaged.

In 1899 work began on a new church building beside the 1833 building.
Construction was completed in 1902 and sixteen years later the other church building was demolished. The church was changed in 1955 when classrooms were added to the rear and again in 1967 when an auditorium and additional classrooms were added to the rear.