Harmony Baptist Church and Cemetery
Navasota, Grimes County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Soon after John Moore McGinty (1823-1888) and his wife Mary Loretta Brown settled in Stoneham in 1853, they organized the Grimes Prairie Baptist Church. About 1859 the congregation moved to a schoolhouse in this area and changed the name to "Harmony". This property was acquired from Blake and Peggy Brantley, and the first church house erected in 1870. Upon the death of McGinty, his wife and son deeded the cemetery land which had been in use for years. About 1924 this building was completed. Services were held here until the 1930s.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When John Moore McGinty and his wife Mary Loretta Brown settled the Grimes County prairie in 1853, they gathered their neighbors into a frontier congregation that soon met in a local schoolhouse and took the name "Harmony." The first church house rose in 1870, and the family later deeded the burial ground that had already served the community for years. The present building was finished about 1924, and services continued here into the 1930s.
Why it matters
Rural churches like Harmony were the social and spiritual anchors of frontier Texas settlement, binding scattered farm families into lasting communities.
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Related people
- · John Moore McGinty
- · Mary Loretta Brown
Themes & tags
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