On September 10, 1859, twelve Indiana residents, four men and eight women, became the charter members of the Baptist Church in Muncie, Indiana, a community of 1700 residents. The small town boasted three other churches at the time: Methodist, Presbyterian, and Universalist. The organizational meeting for the Baptist Church had been held in the county courthouse, and for the next two and a half years the church continued to hold its services there using only one courtroom and having services once a month.