This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Pruitt, Holden, West Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/wV.2ADI/1506 Message Board Post: I have three lines(Pruitt,West,Holden) of Family that contributed to the building of Mt.Pisgah Baptist Church in or near Letona,White County,AR. They are on a List of contributors but there is no date for the list(I would guess between 1899 and 1906). Does anyone know the date that they took up the money to build the church or the date that they began to build the church? Any reponse is appreciated. Sincerely, Mark Jackson

My recollections of Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church building: As I recall from my parents, who were members of the Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church in the 20s, 30s, and 40s, the building that stood until the present building was constructed (probably in the 80s) was built from lumber salvaged from an earlier church building. I do not know the date. [When I think of attending church in that building (1940s-1980s) over the years, my first thoughts are of the benches. So the following thoughts are in no way critical of anyone, but my recollections and observations as a child and youth.] I suspect the benches were from the pre-1900 bldg. There were benches of several "styles", some had one flat board for the seat and a single board for the back and others had slats on both the seat and back. Those slats were very smooth from years of wear. A couple of the slatted benches had slats so far apart that I recall my fear of falling through as a child! It would appear that 4 or 5 men in the early congregation volunteered to make 2-4 benches each and did not have a pattern from which to build nor did they confer with the others as to how the benches would be built. They just built benches and then brought them all together for the first building. As a very young child during church services there I recall hearing the northbound M&NA trains blowing their whistles as they approached the crossing on the north side of the creek. The Mt. Pisgah Cemetery is across the road from the Baptist Church and just north of the Methodist Church. Does anyone know the date of the oldest marked grave there? The bare area along the ridge through the middle of the cemetery is filled with unmarked graves, many of which may pre-date the oldest graves with stones. My father, who helped dig many graves there, related to me of several attempts at digging graves in that area where there are no stones. Wendell