Saddle Mountain Mission Church, Cache

On April 9, 1896, a thirty-one-year-old Baptist missionary from Canada named Isabel Crawford arrived at Saddle Mountain to establish a Baptist mission station. The congregation built and paid for a chapel that it dedicated in 1903. The mission was also the site of a large (and still active) cemetery. Clashes with Baptist officals eventually led to Crawford’s forced transfer from Oklahoma in 1906. At her death in 1961 her body was returned to Oklahoma and buried in Saddle Mountain cemetery. The church was notable for the number of Kiowa missionaries and pastors it produced, including George Hunt, Ioleta McElhaney, and Sherman Chaddlesone. In 1963 the building was moved to a privately held amusement park called Eagle Park. It sits here today, alongside Quanah Parker’s Star House. Both properties are in very poor condition. Action is being taken with Star House, and there are hopes to do the same with the chapel.