Crayne Presbyterian Church Corner Stone

From The Crittenden Press, April 6, 1893.

The Corner Stone. Imposing ceremonies mark the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.

On March 26, 1893, at 4 o'clock a large congregation from different parts of the county were gathered together at Crayneville, Ky to see Rev. B. T. Watson, your pastor, lay the corner stone of the new Presbyterian Church here.

All present joined in singing the grand old hymn, "How Firm a Foundation." Twelve elders were chosen from the following churches: Marion, Sugar Grove, Piney Fork and Crayneville. Each Elder took their stand at twelve stones of the foundation and remained there during the service.

The following records were deposited in the stone.

• Holy Bible
• Roll of Membership
• One copy of Confession of Faith
• One copy of C. P. Paper
• One copy of Missionary Record
• One copy of S. S. Comments
• One copy of Rays of Life
• One copy of Our Lambs
• One copy of Crittenden Press
• One copy of Marion Monitor
• Roll of membership of the Christian Workers Society
• Roll of membership of S.S.
• A memento, a lock of hair of Mr. D. W. Deboe, and a silver dime giving the date when he was elected elder in the C. P. Church

These were placed in a small box and then placed in the box which was cut in the stone and the stone was laid in its place to stand as a monument that the people of this generation love and serve the Great Father of the Universe, who's Son is our "Chief Corner Stone."

This historic corner stone is resting today at the entrance of the new Presbyterian Church that was built after this old church was torn down in 2001, due to the tornado damage of Jan. 3, 2000.

From our home in Crayne there was just a field between our house and this church. As children we roamed and played around this whole area and around the church grounds. I would have been around 9 and my brother Billie about 12 years old. Billie was at the church during this time when some men were doing some work on the church's foundation.  When they removed the stone from it's place it was found that the metal box had all rusted and it was just bits of metal.  Most of the paper items had all rotted away.  You could see bits of Bible pages and a few scraps of paper with writing.   The piece of braided hair was still there and the silver dime.  Those two things was all that survived the water that had collected in the rock over the years.

Railroad Crossing Trestle

This is a picture of the railroad crossing that used to be located on the A. H. Clement Road. The large sandstone rocks, taken from the rock quarry in the article below, were used to help build up the banks to hold the track.

The crossing was taken out in 1999-2000 right after the rail road tracks were taken up in 1999.

Crittenden County has one rail road trestle left, it is located at what we called Winlow Park on Hwy. 60 East about 5 miles from Marion. I wonder if the people that owned the land didn't want it taken down and that it why is was saved from destruction.

Crayne's Rock Quarry

Illinois Central Railroad Rock Quarry

The information for this history was shared with me by Greg Stallion. His family used to live on Loyd Road just South of Crayne.

Located on approximately 160-180 acres of woodland 1.5 miles East of Crayne midway between the Crayne Cemetery Road and Loyd Road. The current property owner is former Crayne resident Marcus Norman of Evansville, Indiana.

This quarry is believed to have been first established in Crayneville by the Illinois Central Railroad Company in order to supply stone needed to construct the railways being built through Crittenden County during the late 1870's. Large deposits of sandstone were extracted from this site and also used to build chimneys, stepping stones and foundations of various community homes. (There was a couple of these large stones that were at my Grandmother's home, Ethel Brantley's, at her home on the corner of Crayne Cemetery Road and Hwy. 641) and they were used as a walking bridge over the large ditch to walk from her yard to the highway.) I've also been told that some of these stones were also used in the community of Fredonia, Ky as stepping stones for sidewalks and patio's.

The site of which the rock quarry once stood is only visible by those who knew where it once was. Although heavy wooded growth now dominates the old working area, large cut rocks of various sizes are still present in the old quarry.

It appeared to be that the workers of the Illinois Central Railroad Rock Quarry first began cutting their stones out of the nearby bluff itself, starting approximately 35 feet in height and working down.

The quarry was only active for a period of a few short years (1-2), closing shortly after the full construction of the railway.

In the picture above made by Greg Stallion about 5 years ago, the stones were nicely stacked. I've been told just last year, that many of the large cut stones have been taken and not many are left now and the place is a mess.

Crayne School Reunion August 22, 2009

Crayne School Reunion

The Crayne School Reunion was held August 22, 2009. Although not as many attended this year as in 2006, the afternoon was sure enjoyed by those that came.

The oldest student there was Houston Kirk, he is 86 years old. The next oldest was James Robert Dorroh at 83 years old. Both are in good health and attend church and activities regularly.

Edwin White of Kingsport, TN, drove the farthest at 350 miles.

John Walker, who I hadn't seen for over 40 years, drove from St. Louis for the day.

The picture at the right, are three old friends, who attended school all 12 grades together. Grade school at Crayne and High School at Crittenden County High School. Left to Right. Harold Cannon, Clinton Bigham and Me. Thanks for the memories.

Hail Storm of August 11, 2009

Catching up on the Happenings in My Home Town.

Crayne was once again hit with a storm on August 11, 2009. This time it was a terrible wind and hail store. Many homes were damaged as much or more than by the January 3, 2000 tornado that devastated our little community.

The picture at the right is what was left of one of the windows in my family home. This is a storm window and the inside window, both busted by the large golf size pieces of hail. The shutters were also busted out, shown on the right of the window. The pieces that you see plastered on the upper part of the picture are leaves that was shred from the trees. Siding had holes in it the size of baseballs.

The last of the damaged homes are being repaired this month. New roofs and siding are being completed and people are about back to normal.

The Crayne knobs, which are usually a colorful site in the fall, were so damaged by the wind and hail that they have looked brown and shredded for the rest of the summer. There wasn't one colorful tree to be seen on them this fall.

Making of Future History

The Crayne School Reunion Committee met last night and formed the plans for the 2nd Crayne School Reunion. The first-ever Crayne School Reunion was held on Sept. 9, 2006 and was a big success. Several generations of Crayne school students met at the Crayne Presbyterian Church and exchanged memories, stories, laughter, hugs and friendship.We hope this one will bring back even more of the Crayne students and another enjoyable, memorable day.

• Here is the information.
  Crayne Reunion Scheduled for August 22, Crayne School reunion will be held August 22, at the Crayne Presbyterian Church fellowship hall, starting at 2:00 p.m.
• Anyone who attended school or taught at Crayne and their spouse or guest are invited to attend. Finger foods, desserts and drinks will be served.
• Old school pictures and other memorabilia are welcome for display. Dig through those old pictures and share them with old friends.
  
• Reservations may be made by mailing a check for $7 single, or $14 couple as soon as possible to Betty Hodges, 4770 US Hwy 641, Marion, KY 42064,
• or Linda Tabor, 5229 US Hwy 641, Marion, KY 42064.
  
  
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Vernon and Wilma Sutton Home

One of the old homes in Crayne was torn down recently. The home of Vernon, Wilma and Bernice Sutton. It was located just below the home of James Robert Dorroh. The railroad track used to be just to the right of the home on the hill. Bernice grew up with the sounds of the old locomotives going past each day.

Bernice told me that her mom and dad bought the house about 1941 and it was only a two room little house. Through the years, her dad built several more rooms and a bathroom to it and made it the house you see in the picture.

It had a little stream running beneath the trees and Uncle Vernon had built a small concrete bridge over it. I remember when me and Mom visited them when I was little, how I love going back and forth across that little bridge over the stream. Probably hoping I would fall in it.

Bernice had kept the home for many years after her parents passed away, but decided it was time to let go and so she sold it to some folks in Fredonia. They tore the house and out buildings down in May of 2009 and have now moved in a double wide mobile home in the lot.

Bernice and I are first cousins, our Mom's were half-sisters.