Salt River Church was the mother church of Baptist witness in the area. It was constituted on Feb. 3, 1798, by William Taylor and John Penney with seven charter members. John Penney, the first pastor, served until his death in 1833 and was the great-grandfather of J.C. Penney, founder of Penney Stores. In 1842, the log meeting house was replaced by the present building. The last church member died in 1965.