Yucatan Baptist Church - Yucatan, MO
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 38° 51.249 W 091° 45.019
15S E 608435 N 4301333
Another ghost town, and someone painted white over the church sign. See it in the photos in the DNR link inside.
Waymark Code: WMXX94
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 03/12/2018
Views: 0
County of church: Callaway County
Location of church: MO-D & CR-134, Yucatan, 5 miles S. of I-70 @ Williamsburg
Church built: 1910
Abandoned Church now
All the historic records I have read either say no cemetery, or just do not mention a cemetery-which usually mean none is there.
But there is a cemetery here. Someone recently has found grave sites and is driving pipes where the headstones should be.
I could only find 7 headstone/plaques, but many more do exist
The building is deteriorating, and no effort, it seems, is being made to save it.
"The church is located at the intersection of two historic roads (both located on the 1876 Atlas). Little can be found on Yucatan as a
place name, but there may have been a small crossroads settlement there. Currently the church is set back from the road on a large
flat lot. Near the road intersection is a scattering of residential buildings
"Very little is in the historic record about Yucatan as a place name or the Yucatan Baptist Church. A church building is located in this
approximate location on the 1919 Standard Atlas of Callaway County, Missouri. Based on type and material, this building was likely
constructed c. 1910. This is one of five gable-end churches identified in the survey as being relatively unaltered and possibly eligible
for listing in the National Register as a representative example of the gable-end church type.
"This is a very simple gable-end church with centered entrance topped by a single pane transom. There is no other fenestration on the
primary façade. The frame building has a front gable roof and clapboard siding. There is a long narrow addition to the rear of the
building that extends beyond either side of the building. The eastern portion contains a secondary entrance and paired windows. This
is one of the few substantially unaltered gable-end churches in the county." ~ Rural Churches of Callaway County, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, PDF page 193
"The Richland Christian, White Cloud Presbyterian, Yucatan Baptist and the Guthrie
Church are the best examples of frame gable-end rural churches identified in the county.
Though Yucatan Baptist and the church in Guthrie have additions, these frame additions
are small and are located at the rear or rear corner of the buildings. Otherwise the
properties retain original siding and fenestration. Neither building currently houses a
congregation, however. The Guthrie building is now used for a business and Yucatan
Baptist appears to be used for storage." ~ Survey of Rural Churches Characteristics, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, page 12