Crab Creek Baptist Church was established in 1834 from Mud Creek Baptist Church.
The charter members were Jacob Cantrell, Samuel Cantrell, Cornelius Capps, Solomon Osteen, Archable Nelson, Samuel Evans, Richard Sentelle, John Shadwick, Robert McMinn, David Evans, Sarah Stepp, Elizabeth Nelson, Sarah Shipman, Catherine Sentelle, Jane Evans, Malinda Jones, Ester Capps, Jane Shadwick and Tabbetha Evans.
The first church, a log church, was originally closer to Evans Road, not far from the site of today’s McCrary Family Cemetery, according to George Jones with the Henderson County Genealogical and Historical Society.
The Rev. Jacob Cantrell was the first minister.
According to church minutes, services were held in a new meeting house in 1857. This was probably the current location off Jeter Mountain Road near Crab Creek Road.
The early Crab Creek School was located on a knoll across Jeter Mountain Road.
The present church building was built between 1985 and 1986.
The oldest marked grave in the Crab Creek Baptist Church Cemetery is that of M.T. Huggins who died in 1859.
Other early graves include those of Josiah Huggins, 1865; M.T. Huggins, 1859; V.W. Huggins, 1863; children of the Raines family; Samuel Evans, 1892; Jane Evans, 1883; Tabbetha Evans, 1867; John Shipman, 1886; and Mary Shipman, 1885.
There are three Confederate soldiers with grave stones in the cemetery.
The story of Levi Jones is interesting and not yet fully explained. Levi Jones enlisted in the 60th N.C. Infantry Regiment, Co. D, Henderson Rangers, on 7-10-1862. This was a Confederate regiment. He deserted 12-10-1862 from a hospital. He died Sept. 11, 1863, in Henderson County. There are no Confederate military records stating how or where he died. He was simply listed as a Confederate deserter. Family records state that he was killed on Pinnacle Mountain. Written on his grave stone are the words: “killed because he would not forsake the U.S. flag.” He was not killed by regular Confederate troops. If he had been captured as a deserter or while eluding capture, this would be found in Confederate military records.
Joseph Jefferson Osteen enlisted in the 62nd N.C. Infantry Regiment, Co. E, on 7-14-1862. He was captured 9-9-1863 at Cumberland Gap, a prisoner at Camp Douglas, Chicago, Ill., and released 5-8-1865. He died in 1918.
James Stepp IV enlisted in the 60th N.C. Infantry Regiment, Co. D, Henderson Rangers, on 7-10-1862. He was discharged 8-1-1862. The reason for the discharge was not reported. He later enlisted in the 69th N.C. Infantry Regiment (7th Battalion N.C. Cavalry), Co. A. The date of his enlistment was not reported. His name was reported on a clothing roll for the third quarter of 1864 and a bounty roll dated 9-20-1864. He died in 1915.
Six men who joined the Union have grave sites at the church cemetery.
James L. Evans enlisted in the 2nd N.C. Mounted Infantry on 9-26-1863. He deserted 2-9-1864 from the Union Army and returned to duty 6-15-1865. He was a Confederate deserter from the 62nd N.C. Infantry Regiment, Co. E, deserting after 8-31-1862. He died 1919.
James L. Evans was also a well-known early Baptist minister. His family owned land in the Big Willow and Crab Creek communities. His mother was a Cantrell. He was the son of Samuel Evans and grandson of Joseph Evans, who purchased land in the community in 1824 and was also an early Baptist minister. James L. Evans was also an early teacher in the county school system for many years.
John Boone Huggins enlisted in the 2nd N.C. Mounted Infantry, Co. F, on 10-1-1863. A Confederate military record could not be found. He died in 1867.
Solomon Jones enlisted in the 2nd N.C. Mounted Infantry, Co. C, on 9-26-1863. He was a Confederate deserter from the 60th N.C. Infantry Regiment, Co. D, deserting from a hospital on 12-10-1862. He died in 1938 in Henderson County.
Elijah Osteen enlisted in the 2nd N.C. Mounted Infantry, Co. C, on 10-1-1863. He was a Confederate deserter from the 62nd N.C. Infantry Regiment, Co. E, deserting 8-31-1862. He died in 1896. He was the twin brother of Elisha Osteen, who also enlisted in the 2nd N.C. Mounted Infantry, Co. B, on 10-1-1863. Elisha Osteen died of disease on July 17, 1864, in Tennessee. His grave site is at the Knoxville National Cemetery (U.S. Veterans Gravesites).
William C. Raines enlisted in the 2nd N.C. Mounted Infantry, Co. F, on 8-12-1864. He was a Confederate deserter from the 62nd N.C. Infantry, Co. E, deserting 4-22-1863. He died in 1925.
Along with veterans from the 20^th century wars, the cemetery also contains the grave of Richard Bunyon Evans. He served with the Army Hospital Corps during the Philippine-American War. He enlisted in 1902 in Macon, Ga. In 1905, he was in the Hospital Corps and based at Camp Dewey in Manila, Philippines. He was on detached service to Zamboanga. He re-enlisted in the Army Hospital Corps in 1906 at Atlanta, Ga., and was discharged in 1909.
The world’s largest twins, Benny McCrary and Billy McCrary, also have grave sites at this cemetery. There is a 13-foot-wide memorial that holds the record as the world’s largest gravestone. The 3-ton granite monument was inscribed with two Honda mini-bikes and the words, “World Record Holders.”