Gilgal Baptist Church
Gilmer, Upshur County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1865 the Rev. John Baptist led the founding of this congregation. The members built a brush arbor here and chose the name "Gilgal" after the site of the Israelites' first encampment in the Promised Land. Tom Littlepage gave two acres for the church grounds and for a Black school. Later, three acres were purchased from Judge J. R. Warren. The first frame church building was erected here in 1872 during the ministry of the Rev. J. H. Hill. In 1900, after serving this fellowship, the Rev. W. L. Dickson founded an orphanage, fulfilling his lifelong dream. The Dickson Colored Orphans Home, near Gilmer, operated for years before the state government took charge and moved the facility to Austin. The Rev. S. H. Howard served longer and baptized more members than any other pastor of this congregation. About 1905, during Rev. Howard's ministry, this structure was completed. The building was veneered with brick during the pastorate of an evangelist, the Rev. H. W. Gray. The first full-time minister, the Rev. Floyd D. Harris, led in the building of the educational annex. A parsonage was constructed during the pastorate of the Rev. U. L. Sanders. (1979)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Founded in 1865 as the Civil War ended, this Black Baptist congregation began under a brush arbor and took the biblical name "Gilgal," the Israelites' first camp in the Promised Land — a fitting choice for a people newly freed. Over the following decades its members raised a frame church, ran a Black school on donated land, and, under Rev. W. L. Dickson, opened the Dickson Colored Orphans Home. The brick-veneered sanctuary and educational annex trace a congregation that steadily built institutions of faith, learning, and care.
Why it matters
It records how freedpeople in East Texas turned emancipation into lasting community institutions — a church, a school, and an orphanage — a story at the heart of African American life after slavery.
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Related people
- · Rev. John Baptist
- · Rev. W. L. Dickson
- · Rev. S. H. Howard
Related events
- · Founding of the Dickson Colored Orphans Home
Themes & tags
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