HIGHLAND
COUNTY
HISTORICAL PLACES

DUNKARD RIDGE CHURCH AND CEMETERY

(Brushcreek, twp. 1 3/4 mile W of Elmville)

The German Baptists or dunkard formed an organization in Brushcreek twp. as early as 1805. They met in the log cabins of their members for some thirty-five years before they erected a church.

The church, built on the long ridge southwest of the Spring, was appropriately called Dunkard Ridge. The building stood on the south side of the road leading to Belfast. Today the Dunkard Ridge Church is in the possessio of the Church of Christ and Christian Union. The German Baptists or Dunkards, converted the Huffman school house that stood nearby, inot a church building. The Huffman school was attended by children from many leading families in the southern part of the township. it was a popular school for over half century. (6)

Many members of the Gall family, Kessler, Kinzer, Lewis, Williamson, Rucker, Post and Noland families are buried on Dunkard Ridge. Jacob Hiser was born in 1815, was laid to rest in Dunkard Ridge cemetery, after his death on November 1, 1898. Christian, wife of the pioneer Elias Williams, died in 1879 at the age of ninety-eight. The mother of a large family she reared "in the wild region in Jackson and Brushcreek Townships." She was more than a "typical pioneer wife and mother."