First Baptist Church - Thackerville, OK - Bell Towers on Waymarking.com

That the bell is up high, along with a pretty good coat of silver paint, makes it difficult to see its manufacturer. It looks usable, but there is no rope attached to it, and it's unlikely that someone is climbing up there every week to ring it. The tower is about thirty to forty feet tall, made of brick with a white cross on one side. The brick looks different from that used on the sanctuary, suggesting a newer sanctuary to go with the tower, or just modifications at some point. A plaque on the front reads:

Mamie Brady Tower
Faithful to Rural
Baptist Churches
1960

Wilson Beardsley
Pastor

A Findagrave search turns up two Mamie Bradys in Oklahoma, one buried in Ardmore, the other buried much farther from here, in Vinita. As to the church itself...

An older building looking a lot like a previous sanctuary is on the grounds, now used by the church youth, but there is no cornerstone to give away its identity. There is a large fellowship building, and near the entrance to the sanctuary is a bronze plaque which reads:

First Baptist Church

Thackerville Oklahoma
United States of America

Organized November 30, 1887
at Thackerville, Oklahoma Indian Territory
100 Years Old, Today November 30, 1987
Serving God Till Jesus Returns

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Unfortunately, there's not much to be found in terms of history or even church activity. There are plenty of web-spidered directory listings and a few obituaries referencing funeral services here, but that's about it.

Thackerville itself is at US 77 and OK 153 in south-central Love County, just across the Red River from Gainesville, TX, and most visitors to the area are familiar with the WinStar World Casino and Resort that operates along I-35. Zachariah Thacker settled a bit northeast of here in the mid-1800s when this was still Pickens County in the Chickasaw Nation (Indian Territory), establishing a mill and farming alongside the natives. When he died in 1887, the settlement moved to the present location to be closer to the railroad (which is still quite active), eventually incorporating in 1899. It's a small town today, with quite a bit of farming and ranching, and there are probably 400-500 people living in the area.

Address of Tower: 19266 US 77 Thackerville, OK USA 73459 Still Operational: yes Number of bells in tower?: 1 Rate tower: Tours or visits allowed in tower?: No Relevant website?: Not listed

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Please post an original picture of the tower taken while you were there. Please also record how you came to be at this tower and any other interesting information you learned about it while there.

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Date Logged Log   07/03/2023 KidWrangler visited it