While we know our northern friends may not feel it, in the South, Spring is
here. So we thought we'd share a few of our gardening sites appropriate
for this time of the year. Along with gardening, there's grilling, and getting
ready to diet so that you can fit back into that bathing suit this summer!
"I was glad when they said
unto me, let us go into the House of the
Lord."-David.
"There's a Church in the valley by the
wildwood
No lovelier spot in the dale;
No place is so dear to my childhood,
As the little brown Church in the vale."
Beaver Dam Church
The early history of the Beaver Dam
Presbyterian Church at Grant carries us back
to the year 1873, when Wiley Homer, one of
the enterprising young men of the community,
built an arbor in the timber, and held the
first religious meetings among the colored
people of that neighborhood.
Parson C. W. Stewart, of Doaksville, the
next year held occasional services in the
arbor, and in 1875 secured the erection of
the first house of worship. It was built of
saplings, and at the place previously
occupied by the arbor. Wiley Homer continued
to serve as leader of the regular Sabbath
meetings, when the parson was not present.
In 1881 the Church was organized with the
following persons as original members:
Wiley Homer was the only elder ordained at
that time. A year or two later, Richard
Roebuck, and in 1888 Richard D. Colbert and
Wellington Bolden (died 1892) were ordained.
Wiley Homer and Richard D. Colbert continued
to serve as elders until they were ordained
to the full work of the gospel ministry in
1895 and 1903, respectively.
The elders in 1913 are as follows:
William Goff, ordained 1892
Aaron Green, ordained 1894
Wiley Brown, ordained 1912
Walter McCulloch, ordained 1912
Others that served as elders were:
Nick Colbert, 1891 to 1894
Peter Nolan 1893 to 1896
Moses Folsom 1904 till death, 1912
The succession of pastors has been as
follows:
Parson C. W. Stewart, Doaksville 1874 to
1890, 16 years
Thomas C. Ogburn, Goodland 1890 to 1892 2
years
Wiley Homer, Grant 1892 to 1912 20 years
Samuel J. Onque, Grant 1912 to date 1914
The comfortable and spacious chapel, now
occupied by the congregation, was built in
1904 during the pastorate of Wiley Homer,
the God-fearing cowboy, who 30 years before
had built the arbor in the timber.
New Hope Church At Frogville
The New Hope Presbyterian Church at
Frogville, Choctaw county, was organized
about 1872 by Parson Charles W. Stewart, who
had conducted occasional services in this
neighborhood for some time previous.
The first elders were Elias Radford, who
died in 1908 after 36 years of faithful
service, and James Pratt, who, after 40
years of faithful official service, is still
living (1914) in his own cozy cottage home
near the Church. In the interest of the
Church, which is located in the Oak forest,
along Red River southeast of Hugo, and still
fifteen miles from railway, he has from the
first been the principal host, to receive
and entertain the Frogville circuit-riders,
as in the days of Stewart and Homer; and
provided rooms in his own home for the
resident ministers as in the days of
Sleeper, Harry and Starks. When the
Presbytery meets at Frogville, he generously
plans to entertain about one half the people
that are present from a distance. The good
he has already accomplished, by his
faithful, life-long service in the Church
and Sunday school, make him worthy to be
long and gratefully remembered, as one of
the noblest and most generous benefactors in
the community in which he lives.
Others that have been ordained and are still
serving as ruling elders in this Church are
Willis Buffington, ordained Sept. 7, 1902;
and Garfield Pratt, son of James, April 9,
1911.
The succession of pastors of the New Hope
Church has been as follows:
Charles W. Stewart, Doaksville 1872-1889.
Thomas C. Ogburn, Goodland 1889-1891.
Wiley Homer, Grant 1891-1892.
Samuel Gladman, Atoka 1897-1899.
Richard D. Colbert, Grant 1899-1900.
John H. Sleeper, Frogville 1900-1904.
Hugh L. Harry, Frogville 1904-1905.
William J. Starks, Frogville 1905-1912.
Julius W. Mallard, Frogville since Jan. 4,
1913.
Wiley Homer, an elder and catechist in the
Beaver Dam Church at Grant, as an aid to
Parson Stewart conducted most of the
services during his last two years, 1887 to
1889.
This Church in 1913 reports 26 members and
59 in the Sunday school. In all probability
it was the second Church organized by Parson
Stewart.
St. Paul Church, Eagletown
In 1877, Parson Charles W. Stewart of
Doaksville began to hold occasional
religious services in the colored settlement
at Eagletown, and Saint Paul Presbyterian
Church was organized in 1878.
Rev. Charles Copling, a missionary to the
Choctaws also conducted an occasional
service among the colored people, during the
year preceding the organization of the
Church.
The elders ordained at the time of
organization were Elijah Butler, Primas
Richards and Solomon Pitchlyn. In 1885
William Butler was ordained to supply the
vacancy, occasioned by the removal of Elijah
Butler, and Primas Richards to Lukfata,
where they became that year two of the first
elders of the Mount Gilead Church. William
Butler continued to serve as an elder until
1897, when, as a licentiate of the
Presbytery, he became the stated supply of
St. Paul and Forest Presbyterian Churches.
Shepherd Riley served a number of years as
an elder of this Church. Those serving as
elders in 1913 are Calvin Burris, Monroe
Lewis, George Burris and Adam Lewis.
The ministers serving Saint Paul have
been:
Parson Charles W. Stewart 1877 to 1889.
William G. Ogburn 1890 to 1891.
John H. Sleeper 1894 to 1897.
William Butler 1897 to date, 1914.
William Butler, a favorite son and elder of
this Church, continuing to serve it
acceptably in the pastorate ever since he
was made a licentiate in connection with
Forest has made a very noble record. He is a
pastor who has acquired the art of
emphasizing in a very pleasant way the word
"come."
"Oh, come to the Church in
the wildwood,
To the trees where the wild flowers bloom;
Where the parting hymn will be chanted,
We will weep by the side of the tomb.
"From the Church in the valley by the
wildwood,
When day fades away into night;
I would fain from this spot of my childhood,
Wing my way to the mansions of light.
"Come to the Church in the wildwood,
Oh, come to the Church in the vale,
No spot is so dear to my childhood
As the little brown Church in the vale."
Mount Gilead Church, Lukfata
The Mount Gilead Church at Lukfata was
organized July 26, 1885, by a committee of
the Presbytery of Choctaw, consisting of
Rev. John Edwards, superintendent of
Wheelock Academy, and Elder Charley Morris,
a Choctaw. The members enrolled on this date
were:
Elijah Butler and Amanda Butler, his
wife; Elisha Butler and Vina Butler, his
wife; Easter Butler, Francis Butler, Jane
Butler, Francis Burris, Daniel Burris, Kate
Burris, Primas Richards, Rhoda Butler,
Nelson Butler and Adaline Butler.-14.
Elijah Butler and Elisha Butler, his son,
and Primas Richards were elected and
ordained as the first elders. On Jan. 29,
1896, Matthew Richards was ordained an
elder.
This Church was called "Mount Gilead,"
the home of the prophet Elijah, in honor of
Elijah Butler, one of the first elders, who,
having served a few years as one of the
first elders of Saint Paul Church, conducted
the first religious meetings among the
colored people, that led to the organization
of this Presbyterian Church at Lukfata.
Parson Charles W. Stewart held occasional
services in the neighborhood of Lukfata, two
or three years before the Church was
organized in 1885, and then continued to be
its monthly supply during the next five
years.
In 1890 it was grouped with St. Paul Church
at Eagletown and supplied by Rev. William G.
Ogburn from that place. From 1895 to 1899 it
was supplied by Rev. John H. Sleeper, who
then moved to Frogville. From 1901 to 1903
it was served by Rev. Samuel Gladman, who
then took charge of Bethany near Wheelock.
Rev. Thompson K. Bridges, after serving and
organizing Ebenezer Church at Lehigh the
previous year, located at Lukfata in the
fall of 1903, and has been the local teacher
and regular supply of the Church, since that
date, a period of eleven years.
This site
includes some historical materials that may imply negative stereotypes
reflecting the culture or language of a particular period or place. These
items are presented as part of the historical record and should not be
interpreted to mean that the WebMasters in any way endorse the stereotypes
implied .
Choctaw Freedmen and Oak Hill Industrial
Academy, 1914, Robert Elliott Flickinger
