Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
Fredericksburg, Gillespie County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Several black families were residing in Gillespie County by the 1870s. A schoolhouse was built in 1877 on property adjacent to this later church site. Blacks probably met in the school for worship services before this church was completed 10 years later. In 1887 Oscar Basse deeded this lot to William McLane, Silas Russel, James Scruggins, and James Tinker as trustees of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. Members of the congregation erected this simple frame structure, with its small steeple, atop a native limestone foundation. In recent years, when the local black community dispersed, use of the church building decreased and deterioration set n. Cora Phillips, widow of Paul Phillips, well-known Gillespie County veterinarian and church trustee, suggested restoring the structure for use by youth organizations united in 1974. The youth, representing half a dozen faiths, carried out repair and renovation work and gained national recognition for their endeavors. Dr. Robert Mosby, son of the black congregation's third pastor, the Rev. William H. Mosby, preached at ceremonies in February 1976, when the restored building was dedicated as the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
By the 1870s several Black families lived in Gillespie County, and they likely first gathered for worship in a schoolhouse built in 1877 before erecting this simple frame church a decade later. In 1887 Oscar Basse deeded the lot to trustees of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, who built the steepled sanctuary atop a native limestone foundation. After the local Black community dispersed, youth of many faiths restored the building, rededicating it in 1976 to national recognition.
Why it matters
This little church documents a rarely told chapter of African American life in the German-settled Texas Hill Country, and its later restoration shows a community reclaiming that heritage.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
Gillespie County, in the Texas Hill Country, is best known for its German heritage. Fredericksburg was founded by German immigrants in the 1840s, and its stone houses, churches, and traditions still reflect those origins. Less often told is the fact that several Black families also lived in the county by the 1870s.
Those years followed the Civil War and emancipation. Across Texas and the South, newly freed African Americans worked to build independent lives, and two of the first institutions they established were usually schools and churches. Education and worship under their own leadership were powerful signs of freedom.
Nationally, Black Methodists in the South organized several independent denominations during Reconstruction. One of them, the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, was established in 1870 and later renamed the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. This small Fredericksburg congregation belonged to that tradition.
People & events
The community's story begins with education. In 1877 a schoolhouse was built on land next to this site, and Black residents probably met there for worship before they had a church. Ten years later, in 1887, Oscar Basse deeded this lot to four trustees of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church: William McLane, Silas Russel, James Scruggins, and James Tinker. Members of the congregation then built the church themselves, a simple frame building with a small steeple, set on a foundation of native limestone.
Over time the local Black community dispersed, and the building fell into disuse and disrepair. Its revival came from an unexpected direction. Cora Phillips, widow of Paul Phillips, a well-known Gillespie County veterinarian and church trustee, suggested that the building be restored for youth organizations that had united in 1974.
Young people from half a dozen faiths took on the repair and renovation work. Their effort earned national recognition. In February 1976, the restored building was dedicated as the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, and the ceremony made a meaningful connection to the past: Dr. Robert Mosby, son of the congregation's third pastor, the Rev. William H. Mosby, preached at the dedication.
Its place in the American story
Small rural Black churches like this one were central to African American life after emancipation. They were places of worship, and they were also community centers, schools, and spaces for leadership where Black Americans ran their own institutions. Many of these buildings have been lost, especially where Black communities moved away, which makes surviving examples precious.
This church also complicates a familiar picture of the Hill Country. Fredericksburg's German story is famous, but the presence of a Black congregation here is a reminder that American communities have rarely been as uniform as their popular images suggest. Recovering those overlooked histories gives a fuller and more honest account of the past.
The 1970s restoration ties into a wider national movement. Around the time of the United States Bicentennial, many communities set out to preserve and honor their local history. Here, young people of different faiths saving an African American church shows how preservation can bridge communities and keep a nearly forgotten story alive.
If you visit
Look for a modest frame church with a small steeple standing on a foundation of native limestone, the same local stone you will see in many of Fredericksburg's historic buildings. Its simplicity is the point. This is a building raised by the hands of its own congregation.
Think about the site as a whole. The schoolhouse stood on the neighboring land, and together the school and church represent the institutions a small Black community built for itself in the decades after freedom.
Fredericksburg is a popular Hill Country destination, known for its German heritage, historic main street, and surrounding countryside. Adding this church to your visit gives you a broader view of the town's history, one that includes the African American families whose story is too often left out.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · Oscar Basse
- · William H. Mosby
- · Robert Mosby
Themes & tags
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