Courtland Baptist Church
Nestled in the woods of Queen City along County Road 3437 sits a simple white structure with a simple white steeple. The Courtland Baptist Church, possibly built around 1882, and it’s accompanying cemetery, are all that remains of the Old Cherokee settlement that was formed in 1845.
The settlement was named so, because of the Dobbs and Morgan families that travelled to Texas from Cherokee County, Georgia. The oldest marker in the cemetery is for a James N. Warnel, born 17-JUL-1813 and died 23-SEP-1854. The first known pastor was Rev. Nelson Porterfield.
The building has been in continuous use as a church and meeting place until earlier this year when Pastor James W. “Chip” White passed away. No longer with an organized leadership, the tiny congregation drifted away to other churches.
But now, one of those families is taking action to restore the building that has seen better days, thanks to the generosity of Queen City native and Houston attorney, Tony Buzbee. His aunt, Frankie Crooks, and mother, Patti Buzbee, are leading the charge to organize the effort, under the guidance of Jared Stringer – an employee of Buzbee’s Antioch Ranch.
Since posting about the church on social media, Buzbee has received many offers of assistance from his large following. “I’ve had hundreds of people from all over, reach out to help,” he said. “Not only with financial assistance, but also with their talents and labor. My intention is to restore it to what it was before – maybe even better.”
A group of interested locals with ties to the church met this past weekend to form a board of directors and devise a plan. The elected officers are: President Patti Buzbee, Secretary/ Treasurer Frankie Crooks and Sue Clements, and members: Danny Crooks, Glenn Buzbee, James Upchurch and Rene Martin.
Early records of the church show that Mr. and Mrs. Preston Rose Scott, who donated 111 acres to the Texas and Pacific Railroad to form the town of Atlanta, transferred his membership from the Courtland Church to the newly formed Atlanta Methodist Church in the 1880s.
With them came Mrs. Scott’s mother, Mrs. Jane Richey, who owned all of the land that became Atlanta and Queen City; they lived on a plantation in the Courtland area.
The church, as many small rural ones did, doubled as a schoolhouse for many years prior to the 1950s when kids were bussed to the larger central schools in Atlanta and Queen City. In 1898-99 there was one teacher – Mr. J.A. Haynes. A 1938 Citizens Journal lists these Courtland teachers: Raymond Farmer, Mrs. Eva Farmer, Mrs. Eva Ellen Mason; trustees: R.A. Busbee, R.L. Wise, E.W. Porter. A year later they were: Raymond Farmer, Mrs. Eva Farmer, Mrs. Lieut. W.E. Rabb, and Chiefs: Bennie Jett, Ray O’Kelly, Jay Arnold, James McCoy, Marvin Hogan, Emmett Jett and Bill Rosser.
In an issue of the same paper from the 1940s, a revival at the church was advertised with the Rev. Henry Wommack preaching, along with a graveyard cleaning. The Courtland News was a column written by a Mrs. Elrod for several decades and contained news of weddings, births, deaths, and other important tidbits of the day.
At this time, the small group of dedicated board members are assessing the work to be done to bring the chapel back to life. The rich legacy of our area that it embodies is, without a doubt, worth saving. And once it’s saved, the congregation can get back to its’ intended business of….saving.