Grayson Bible Baptist Church
Sherman, Grayson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
On the evening of Monday, June 22, 1931, John R. Rice began a revival service on the Grayson County Courthouse square. The revival took place where the 1870s courthouse had stood. That building was burned to the ground in May 1930 during mob violence that caused the death of an African American man who had been accused of a crime. Businesses and homes of African American residents were also destroyed. The revival's location -- in the center of Sherman -- was a perfect one. Large crowds of people attended, and the revival lasted for over a month. When Rice asked attendees to present themselves to organize a new church, forty people answered the call, and on July 16, 1931, the Fundamentalist Baptist Church was organized. On the evening of July 28, a tank was constructed on the courthouse lawn and a Baptismal service was conducted. The congregation soon built a tabernacle at the corner of South Montgomery and East Cherry, and the first service in the building was held on Sunday, September 12, 1931. The church has changed locations several times through the years, and the current structure was constructed in 2004 on East Highway 82. During the late 1940s the church's name changed to Central Baptist Church, and again changed in 1973 to Grayson Bible Baptist Church. The church has actively supported mission work and outreach. During the 1950s a church bus was sent to nearby Perrin Air Force Base to bring soldiers to church services. Grayson Christian Academy was established in 1973 as an outreach ministry of the church. (2009)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In June 1931, evangelist John R. Rice launched a month-long revival on the Grayson County courthouse square in Sherman—the very spot where the 1870s courthouse had burned a year earlier during mob violence that killed an African American man and destroyed Black homes and businesses. Huge crowds gathered, forty people answered the call to organize a new congregation, and the Fundamentalist Baptist Church was born in July 1931, baptizing converts in a tank built on the courthouse lawn. Renamed over the decades, it became Grayson Bible Baptist Church and founded Grayson Christian Academy in 1973.
Why it matters
The church's origin story is inseparable from the 1930 Sherman riot, one of Texas's notorious episodes of racial violence, marking a site where community was rebuilt on ground scarred by that tragedy.
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Related people
- · John R. Rice
Related events
- · 1930 Sherman riot
Themes & tags
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