Birdston Valley
Birdston, Navarro County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Developed as a community of former slaves following the Civil War, Birdston Valley takes its name from the nearby settlement of Birdston (2 miles south). Located on Richland Creek bottom lands, residents of the community were primarily farmers. The Birdston Valley Cemetery may have been used as early as 1855, as evidenced by the grave of Willis Kelly (1850-1855), though the marker was probably placed at a later date. A few marked burials date to the 1870s. Many of the community's early settlers are buried here, though some are interred in a nearby slave cemetery. Religious services may have been held in the area as early as 1876. The Goodwill Baptist Church was organized sometime between 1876 and 1883. The first pastor was Isom J. Collins. The first church building was damaged beyond repair in a 1939 windstorm, and was replaced by a second structure. The Birdston Valley Masonic Lodge was organized on August 22, 1907, and met temporarily in a gin owned by Isom J. Collins. A two-story lodge was built, which also served as a schoolhouse for children of the community. The building was destroyed in a 1982 fire and replaced with a one-story structure. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Birdston Valley took shape after the Civil War as a community of formerly enslaved people farming the rich bottomlands of Richland Creek. Its cemetery holds burials perhaps as early as the 1850s and many of the settlement's founders, and by the 1870s and 1880s residents had organized the Goodwill Baptist Church under its first pastor, Isom J. Collins. In 1907 they founded a Masonic lodge whose two-story hall also served as the community's schoolhouse.
Why it matters
Birdston Valley records the resilience of a freedmen's community that built churches, schools, and fraternal life for itself in the generations after slavery.
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Related people
- · Isom J. Collins
- · Willis Kelly
Themes & tags
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