MOBEETIE, TEXAS
Presbyterian Historical Society of the Southwest
James S. Currie, Executive Secretary
Thanks to the Rev. Robert Nicholson, former pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Lubbock and now retired living in Seattle, Washington, much historical material has been received having to do with the Presbyterian witness in the Texas Panhandle.
Mobeetie, Texas is located in Wheeler County, the eastern edge of which borders the western border of Oklahoma. According to the 2020 census, the town had 87 residents. In the 19th century, however, the town bore the name “Sweetwater”. But when the town applied for a post office in 1879, there was already another town with that name, so it took the name “Mobeetie”. At the time people thought it was a Native American name for “Sweetwater”. Later, however, the word, in fact meant “buffalo dung”. Near Mobeetie was a United States Army outpost, Fort Elliott. It was also a major stop for cattle drives to Dodge City, Kansas.
Clifton Crenshaw Alexander was born in Jefferson County, Missouri in 1838. He graduated from Princeton Seminary in 1866 and was ordained an evangelist by Potosi Presbytery in Missouri on his birthday in 1867. According to Nicholson, he was listed as an active minister in both the PCUS and the PCUSA. After serving a church in Apple Creek, Missouri from 1867-1880 (and the Brazeau church from 1867-1876), he moved to Texas in 1880. Alexander was received by Dallas Presbytery (PCUS) on April 14, serving as a teacher in Ferris, Texas. For the next four years his ministry took him, in addition to Ferris, to Kosse, Texas (near Waco) and Sherman.
In August 1884 North Texas Presbytery, which was organized in 1877 with five pastors and seven churches, received a request for a preacher in Mobeetie, Texas. At the time the town had a population of 300. According to one source there were 13 saloons in Mobeetie. Ranchers would come to town for supplies. Meeting in Denison in January 1885 Rev. Alexander was received by the presbytery and appointed as an evangelist in Mobeetie. In addition to Mobeetie, Alexander was expected to organize churches and Sunday schools in the surrounding counties.
Having initially traveled by himself to the Panhandle in January, Alexander returned to Sherman to retrieve his family. They all moved to Mobeetie in a one-horse buggy. According to Nicholson, Alexander “was the first Protestant pastor in the Panhandle of Texas, the northern portion of Llano Estacado”. The Alexander home “was part log and part either frame or picket (logs standing on end in a trench, the whole thing held together by a board along the top of the was). It was sold when the family left Mobeetie and was blown away by the 1898 tornado.”
C. W. Alexander died of pneumonia on March 20, 1886. He preached his last sermon two weeks before, on March 6. His wife and children remained in the Panhandle, making a living as ranchers. Although initially buried in Mobeetie, Alexander’s remains were later reburied in Canadian, 26 miles to the north. He was succeeded by Rev. George K. Scott who stayed only a year and was the church’s last pastor. The church never had more than 30 members and was dissolved April 15, 1889. According to Nicholson, “the bell from the Mobeetie church…hangs in the tower in the church at Canadian and the pulpit and communion table, after first going to First Presbyterian Church in Amarillo, later were taken to First Presbyterian Church in Lubbock.
The 1898 tornado and the 1900 closing of Fort Elliott made it virtually impossible for the town to recover. In 1929 the town moved away two miles. Pampa lies 30 miles to the west. Incidentally, Mobeetie claims two persons of some renown. Living across the street from the Alexanders was Temple Houston, son of Sam Houston, the first president of the Republic of Texas. In addition, born in Mobeetie was Morrie Rath, a member of the 1919 World Series champion Cincinnati Reds. He was an infielder and catcher.
As All Saints Day approaches, we do well to remember, with profound gratitude, those who served faithfully – teaching elders, ruling elders, and members – often in adverse circumstances. Churches in those places may or may no longer exist, but the gospel was preached and lived in faithful and effective ways.
While Clifton Crenshaw Alexander was alive, William Walsham How penned in 1864 words that continue to be sung with gusto and gratitude. Three of the verses follow:
For all the saints who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
And when the fight is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
The Presbyterian Historical Society of the Southwest exists to“stimulate and encourage interest in the collection, preservation, and presentation of the Presbyterian and Reformed heritage” in the Southwest. If you are not a participating member of the Society and would like to become one, the annual dues are $20 per individual and $25 per couple. Annual institutional and church membership dues are $100. Checks may be made out to PHSSW and sent to:
PHSSW – 5525 Traviston Ct., Austin, TX 78738.
