Burke Methodist Church
Burke, Angelina County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Founded in 1889 by a small group of Methodists, this church has played an integral role in the history of the community. H. and Nannie Belote donated land to the congregation in 1894, and the first church building was completed in 1901. It was moved to another section of church property in 1920 and was remodeled in 1940 to serve the needs of the growing membership. A new brick sanctuary and educational building were completed in 1957. Burke Methodist Church has served the community with a variety of worship, educational, and outreach programs. (1991)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Burke Methodist Church was founded in 1889 by a small band of Methodists and quickly became a center of community life. H. and Nannie Belote donated land in 1894, and the first sanctuary was finished in 1901, later moved, remodeled, and eventually replaced by a brick church and educational building in 1957. Through worship, education, and outreach, the congregation has served the town of Burke for well over a century.
Why it matters
Small-town churches like Burke Methodist were the social anchors around which East Texas railroad and timber communities organized their lives.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · H. Belote
- · Nannie Belote
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Ryan Chapel
Diboll vicinity, TX
Ryan Chapel grew from an 1866 Methodist revival held by newcomer Rev. Isaac Ryan in his own home; his brother John was among the 19 charter members. L. H. D. and Sallie Guinn donated 7.5 acres for a church and cemetery, and the first 16-by-20-foot sanctuary had rough puncheon seats and floor. Its first pastor, Rev. Henry Wright, was paid in bacon, corn, and syrup.
McCarty Cemetery
Angelina County, TX
In 1860 Orange McCarty and his wife Mary Arrington bought a large tract in Angelina County, but their planned move from Mississippi stalled when the Civil War erupted and two of their sons died fighting for the Confederacy. The surviving family, joined by the Arringtons and McCalls, finally settled here in 1866 and built a log cabin above Jack Creek, setting aside this acre for burials that were in use by 1873. It endures as the resting place of a founding Angelina County pioneer family.
Emporia Cemetery
Diboll, TX
This burial ground in the Angelina County pinewoods predates the timber boomtowns that grew up around it, beginning with the 1882 grave of an infant son of W.E. and Emily Waltman. When the Emporia sawmill ran nearby from 1893 to 1906, some of its workers and their families were laid to rest here, many in unmarked graves. Cared for at times by the Anthony family, the site is notable for its folk gravemarkers of petrified wood and homemade concrete, and now sits within the city limits of Diboll.
Prairie Grove
Diboll vicinity, TX
Prairie Grove took shape in 1845 as a gathering place for East Texas settlers, its cemetery beginning in 1849 with the burial of a young Stovall daughter. A combined school and church built in the 1880s became the community's heart, evolving into the Prairie Grove Missionary Baptist Church by 1921. Though the school closed in 1948, the church and cemetery have served the area for well over a century.