Eighth Street Baptist Church
Temple, Bell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Soon after the establishment of Temple as a railroad town in 1882, the Rev. L.J. Mackey organized the Saint Love All Baptist Church. The early mission of the church was to serve African American railroad workers in the new town. It was located on the southeast corner of D and 12th streets until 1905, when, as the First Baptist Church (Colored), members moved to this location on what was then Eighth Street. In 1911, during the pastorate of the Rev. J.S. Simmons, members adopted the present congregational name. The church has played a vital role in the development of the community it serves through active ministries that include youth, senior and homebound programs. (2005)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Just after the railroad gave birth to the town of Temple in 1882, the Rev. L.J. Mackey organized a Baptist congregation to serve the African American railroad workers who helped build and run the new junction. Known first as Saint Love All Baptist Church and later as the First Baptist Church (Colored), the congregation relocated to this site in 1905 and adopted the Eighth Street Baptist name in 1911. It has remained a pillar of its community through generations of youth, senior, and outreach ministries.
Why it matters
The church tells the story of the African American workers whose labor built Texas's railroad towns, and of the Black congregations that became the enduring institutional heart of those communities.
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Related people
- · L.J. Mackey
- · J.S. Simmons
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Corinth Missionary Baptist Church
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Corinth Missionary Baptist Church traces to Temple Chapel Baptist Church, organized around 1881 as one of the area's earliest African American congregations, formed as Black laborers migrated to the new railroad town of Temple. After a 1908 fire, members regrouped under the Corinth name in 1913 and built anew in 1916. Across the twentieth century the church became a hub for youth programs, civil rights education, and scholarships.
Cora Anderson Negro Hospital
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Opened in May 1953, the Cora Anderson Negro Hospital gave Temple's growing African American community access to modern medical care just two blocks from Scott & White, which had previously been denied to them. Governed by an advisory board with equal Black and white membership and supported by donors including trustee Lyndon B. Johnson, the hospital was named for its largest individual donor, Cora Woods Campbell Anderson. It served until December 1963, when Scott & White integrated its facilities, and the building continues today as a public health clinic.
Thomas Edison Dixon, M.D.
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