This article was first published in Volume 1, Issue 4 of the Owensboro Times newspaper.
Down a narrow dirt lane off Walnut Street in Whitesville, a small white church sits quietly above a pasture, guarded by trees and time. It’s easy to pass by without notice, but impossible to forget for the families who have worshiped there for generations.
Bryant’s Chapel Missionary Baptist Church traces its roots back to 1892, when local Black families began meeting for worship in a one-room schoolhouse for Black children in Whitesville. According to historical records, the congregation was first organized under the leadership of Mrs. Lovewell “Katty” Howard, Henry Clay “Bay” Rhodes, and Eli Rhodes. Two years later, they bought a small lot and built a wooden church on the property that still stands today.
A deed dated October 8, 1894, documents the sale of land from J.M. Hall and his wife Nancy Hall to three trustees — Milton Kelly, John Jackson, and J.F. Smith — “of the Colored Missionary Baptist Church of Whitesville, Ky.” The handwritten note in the margin reads simply: Whitesville Black Church Deed.
That was the church’s original legal name. But in the community, it was known as Bryant’s Chapel, named for its first pastor, the Rev. William O’Bryant — a traveling preacher who helped organize services in those early years.
“The church has always been special to our family,” said current pastor Britton Hibbitt. “Everybody came on Sundays. Through the years, we had a lot of young pastors get their start here. Over time, people moved away or passed on, and it got hard, but when times get tough, someone always steps up. The Holy Spirit is the reason this church is still here.”
The building itself tells a story of perseverance. The first structure was built of narrow wood slats, later covered with tin, before volunteers added siding and an addition in 1997. Underneath, the floor beams were hand-hewn with axes and carried to the site by horse and wagon. Family accounts say the congregation raised the money through small offerings — pennies and nickels at a time.
By the 1980s, after a series of pastoral changes, attendance had dwindled. Hibbitt said services were sometimes held in his grandmother’s home when the congregation didn’t have a pastor. The last listed leaders in a book titled “History of Whitesville, KY,” by Anna Hamilton and Don Greenwell, were Reverend Carter of Owensboro, Deacon Hayward Norris, and Secretary Katty May Norris, with about 20 active members.
But the spirit of the church never died.
In the mid-1990s, Hibbitt’s late father, the Rev. Larry Board, felt called to reopen and revitalize Bryant’s Chapel. Under his leadership, the congregation grew again.
“He was the right man at the right time,” Hibbitt said. “He said, ‘We’re going to work here,’ and we never looked back.”
Board’s wife at the time, Patsy Anderson, said her family’s ties to the church go back to its founding.
“My great-grandparents helped start it,” Anderson said. “We bought the lot in 1894 and built the church that year. Under the floor are logs cut by axe teams. Folks hauled them in with wagons. It wasn’t fancy, but it was ours.”
A few yards away sits Hampton Cemetery, established so Black residents could bury their loved ones when they were not allowed in the white cemetery. Many of the graves are marked by small, weathered white stones — some dating back to the 1800s.
“It tells you we were here, and we mattered,” Anderson said.
Longtime member Bernie Taylor remembers when the area surrounding the church was a thriving Black neighborhood.
“My grandmother used to say that at night, the lanterns looked like fireflies,” she said. “Families lived up and down this road. It was a beautiful community.”
As years passed, the population thinned. Older residents died, and younger generations moved to Owensboro or other towns for work. Still, Taylor said, the church has remained a place of gathering and belonging.
“People either got old or moved away because there wasn’t much to keep them here,” she said. “But when we host homecomings, pastor anniversaries, or Thanksgiving services, folks still come back. This is home.”
Today, Bryant’s Chapel still opens its doors each Sunday at 1:30 p.m. The congregation is small, but the faith is strong. Hibbitt also streams services on Facebook so family and friends can worship together from afar.
“It’s the people and the community that make this place special,” he said. “God always finds a way, and someone always answers the call.”
For younger generations, the memories endure.
“As a kid, I remember the big homecomings and pastor anniversary dinners,” said Joshua Taylor, Bernie’s son.
“People came from everywhere. When the sanctuary got too full, they’d send us outside to play, and we’d run the hill until Mom called us back in. It felt like the whole world was gathered at church.”
More than 130 years after its first service in a schoolhouse, Bryant’s Chapel Missionary Baptist Church still overlooks the same rolling pasture. The congregation is smaller now, but the message remains the same — faith, family, and perseverance.
The door, as always, remains open.
