Bethlehem Baptist Church
Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The oldest black Baptist congregation extant in Terrell, this church traces its history to 1877, when a group of worshipers led by missionary A. R. Griggs met under a brush arbor. With the Rev. P. W. Upshaw serving as first pastor, church members erected a sanctuary at what is now the 400 block of East Grove Street. The building was moved to the corner of S. Virginia and Cottage streets in 1889. A new facility, built in the early 1900s, was relocated to this site in 1929. It was destroyed in a 1939 fire and replaced by a new structure in 1940. (1989)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Bethlehem Baptist traces its roots to 1877, when Black worshipers led by missionary A. R. Griggs gathered under a brush arbor in Terrell during the hard years of Reconstruction. Under its first pastor, the Rev. P. W. Upshaw, the congregation raised a sanctuary and then repeatedly rebuilt—moving in 1889, erecting a new church in the early 1900s, and recovering after a 1939 fire to build anew in 1940. It endures as the oldest Black Baptist congregation in the city.
Why it matters
Independent Black churches founded after emancipation were centers of worship, education and self-governance, anchoring African American community life in the post–Civil War South.
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Related people
- · A. R. Griggs
- · P. W. Upshaw
Themes & tags
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