Purmela Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way out in Coryell County, a congregation has been gathering, merging, moving, and building for well over a century, and the story starts long before anyone called this place Purmela. Back in 1886, the Reverend W.

M. Blakely and ten charter members came together in the old Basham School Building, right there near the Smith Cemetery. That's how the Basham Baptist Church got its start.

Ten people and a preacher, in a schoolhouse. Small beginning, but they were just getting warmed up. Then came 1901, and Basham Baptist Church did something you don't always see.

Instead of competing with its neighbor, Salem Baptist Church, also known as Round Valley Baptist Church, the two congregations merged. One new body, one new purpose. And together they built a sanctuary down at Cravey Crossing on Cowhouse Creek, about two miles southwest of where you're standing now.

The church took the name Cravey Crossing Baptist Church, and the creek wasn't just scenery. Baptismal services were conducted right there in the water. Worship, once a month.

Community, rooted deep in that rural land. Now here's where the story takes a turn worth savoring. In 1927, the congregation voted to relocate.

And they didn't leave that old building behind. Volunteers dismantled the Cravey Crossing Church building, piece by piece, and rebuilt it right here on this very site. That is not a small thing.

That is people carrying their church with their own hands. When construction was completed in 1928, the name changed one final time, to Purmela Baptist Church, and something else changed too. Worship services moved to weekly.

A congregation that had gathered once a month for years was now showing up every single week. The building has been enlarged over time to serve a growing congregation, but the historic traditions, they've held on. Some stories don't end.

They just keep being told.

What the marker says

This congregation traces its history to 1886, when the Rev. W. M. Blakely and ten charter members organized the Basham Baptist Church in the old Basham School Building at the Smith Cemetery (ca. 1.7 Mi. S). Basham Baptist Church merged with Salem Baptist Church (also known as Round Valley Baptist Church) in 1901, and the new consolidated congregations built a sanctuary at Cravey Crossing on Cowhouse Creek (ca. 2 mi SW). The church's name was changed to Cravey Crossing Baptist Church. Worship services were held once a month, and baptismal services were conducted in the creek. In 1927, after the congregation voted to relocate to this site, the Cravey Crossing Church building was dismantled and rebuilt here by volunteers. The name was changed to Purmela Baptist Church when construction was completed in 1928, and soon worship services were conducted weekly. Throughout its history, this church has served members in a large rural area. The church facilities have been enlarged over the years to serve the growing congregation, which continues to maintain many of its historic traditions. (1991)