Near Site of Pansy Baptist Church
Crosbyton, Crosby County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Pansy Baptist Church was organized in 1905 by J. V. Leatherwood, John Holt, P. H. Leatherwood, Snow Loyd, and J. M. Leatherwood to serve the residents of the Pansy community. Church services were conducted in the school building until 1916 when the congregation constructed its first sanctuary. An arbor was built on the church grounds for revival services. The church building was moved two miles south in 1946 for the convenience of the membership. A parsonage was erected in 1947 for the congregation's first full-time pastor. A new sanctuary was built and was dedicated on July 16, 1950. The church building burned in August 1965, and services were held in a church member's barn until December, when a new structure was completed. The church supported a strong mission outreach program. Through the years population dwindled in the rural community of Pansy. In 1995 the remaining members of the Pansy Baptist Church voted to disband. The church building was donated to the Mt. Zion Baptist Church, an African American congregation in Floydada. The building was moved 32 miles by 140 volunteers from Crosbyton, Pansy, Floydada, and Wiley. (1996)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Founded in 1905 to serve the farming families of the Pansy community, this Baptist congregation met in a schoolhouse before building its own sanctuaries, weathering fire, relocation, and the slow emptying of rural West Texas. When the last members disbanded in 1995, they gave their building to an African American congregation, and 140 volunteers moved the structure 32 miles to its new home in Floydada.
Why it matters
Its final chapter—one dwindling rural congregation handing its church across racial lines to another—captures both the decline of small-town Texas and an act of community generosity.
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Related events
- · Disbandment and relocation of church building, 1996
Themes & tags
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