Greater Mount Olive Baptist Church
Del Rio, Val Verde County, Texas
Marker Inscription
ORGANIZED IN THE 1920s, THIS CONGREGATION IS THE OLDEST SURVIVING WITH ORIGINS IN DEL RIO’S AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY. MEMBERS FIRST HELD SERVICES IN THE A.M.E. METHODIST CHURCH BEFORE SECURING THEIR OWN PROPERTY ON PEIRCE STREET ON MAY 15, 1922. REV. JAMES FENNELL DIRECTED THIS IMPORTANT STEP AND LED THE CHURCH FROM 1922 TO 1958. DESPITE MANY HARDSHIPS, THE CHURCH GREW IN MEMBERSHIP AND FINANCES. THE SANCTUARY WAS REMODELED AND ENLARGED IN THE 1940s. IN 1974, THE CONGREGATION MOVED AGAIN, THIS TIME TO THE FORMER GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH. MEMBERS CONTINUE TO ENRICH THE COMMUNITY IN WORSHIP AND SERVICE.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Organized in the 1920s, Greater Mount Olive is the oldest surviving congregation rooted in Del Rio's African American community. After first worshiping in the local A.M.E. church, members secured their own property on Peirce Street in 1922 under the long leadership of Rev. James Fennell, who guided the church through decades of hardship and growth. The congregation later moved into the former Grace Lutheran Church building in 1974.
Why it matters
Black churches like Greater Mount Olive were the spiritual and organizational heart of segregation-era African American communities, offering worship, mutual aid, and leadership when few other institutions welcomed them.
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Related people
- · Rev. James Fennell
Themes & tags
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