HistoricSiteMarkers
Reconstruction & Gilded Age

Corinth Baptist Church

Jacksonville, Cherokee County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Corinth Baptist Church Organized in June 1881 through the efforts of Obediah Meador and his family, this congregation had 12 members when it joined the Cherokee Baptist Association in 1882. Obediah Meador's son, the Rev. John Benjamin Meador, served as first pastor. In 1894, charter members W. A. and Sallie Simpson deeded property on which the congregation built its first sanctuary about 1900. Corinth Baptist Church would later affiliate with the Baptist Missionary, American Baptist and North American Baptist Associations. Membership grew steadily throughout the first half of the 20th century. The congregation continues to worship in the building constructed in 1950 to replace the first sanctuary. (2002)

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Organized in June 1881 through the efforts of Obediah Meador and his family, this Cherokee County congregation began with a dozen members and his son, the Rev. John Benjamin Meador, as its first pastor. Charter members deeded land in the 1890s, and the first sanctuary rose around 1900 as the church wove itself into several Baptist associations over the decades. The congregation still worships in the building it raised in 1950.

Why it matters

Small rural churches like Corinth knit scattered East Texas farming families into communities, providing the social fabric that held frontier settlements together.

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Related people

  • Β· Obediah Meador
  • Β· Rev. John Benjamin Meador
  • Β· W. A. Simpson
  • Β· Sallie Simpson

Themes & tags

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