Bethel Baptist Church
Longview, Gregg County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Rev. Richard Perry and nine deacons organized this church in 1874. Services were held under a brush arbor on land donated by the Rev. Perry and his wife Betty until a sanctuary was erected later that year. A Sunday School was formed in 1875. A new church building was erected in 1884 and in 1890 a women's missionary society and a youth association were formed. A new sanctuary, built in 1906, was replaced by a fourth sanctuary erected here in 1956. A junior missionary society was organized in 1958. The church continues to serve the area's african American community. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845 - 1995
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The Rev. Richard Perry and nine deacons organized this congregation in 1874, holding early services under a brush arbor on land Perry and his wife Betty donated before a sanctuary was built that same year. Over the following decades the church added a Sunday School, missionary societies, and a succession of ever-larger buildings, the fourth erected on this site in 1956. It has long served the Longview area's African American community.
Why it matters
Founded just years after emancipation, the church reflects how independent Black congregations became cornerstones of community, faith, and self-determination in the post–Civil War South.
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Related people
- · Richard Perry
Themes & tags
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