Gray Community Church

When the North Texas and Santa Fe line came through in 1919, Perryton was laid out on it and made the Ochiltree County seat at once, and the Handbook of Texas says most of its early settlers were former residents of Gray, Oklahoma, and of Ochiltree, Texas. The church now stands at the Museum of the Plains in Perryton, which began in 1975 in one room of the county courthouse and has grown into a large facility whose mission is to preserve the area's heritage.

What the plaque says

Settlers established Gray, Beaver Co., Okla., in the 1900s. Rev. J. W. Duff of Enid, Okla., organized a church in Jan. 1915 and became the first minister. Lumber came from Liberal, Kan., and the ladies aid society raised funds to buy an organ, pews, and carpeting. Revivals and a dedication on Oct. 3, 1915, increased membership from 11 to 122. The Santa Fe Railway built between Gray and Ochiltree, Texas in 1919, creating Perryton. Most houses and buildings were moved by horse and mule teams or steam tractors south to the new townsite. The town's only church remained and for decades was both a viable congregation and an attraction for travelers, with a blue neon cross declaring that "Jesus saves." In 2002, members decided to move the church to Perryton. (2015)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Museum of the Plains — steps away
  Perryton's four-acre museum of the wheat country at the top of Texas, with an 1899 depot, five historic buildings and a life-size Hank the Cowdog, whose author grew up here.

More markers nearby

• Ochiltree County — steps away
• George Morgan Perry — 1.1 mi
• Colonel William B. Ochiltree — 1.1 mi
• Ochiltree Townsite — 9.0 mi