King Star Baptist Church
Kingsville, Kleberg County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Early religious activities for African Americans in this area, many of whom arrived as employees of railroad companies, were conducted at a mission station, reportedly located under a mesquite tree, the Rev. William Green, a missionary for the Mount Zion Baptist Association, made frequent visits to deliver sermons at the site. In 1908, trustees for the Mount Zion Baptist Association purchased a plot of land for $265.00 and a building was erected to house services. On Easter Sunday, April 17, 1910, nine charter members officially formed the King Star Missionary Baptist Church, the first church for African Americans in Kingsville. The Rev. J. W. Brice, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Kingsville, gave the morning's sermon. The Rev. R. B. Shiner was called as first pastor. The church building was used as a school facility for the first African American children's classes in the Kingsville Independent School District. After 1912, at the request of church representatives, the school district began to pay rent of $5.oo per month for use of the building until a new facility was designated. Throughouth the 20th Century the King Star Baptist Church served the religious community of Kingsville in the 1950s church members participated in a program wherein both black and white congregations exchanged members once each month to further relations between local churches. The King Baptist Church continues to celebrate its dedication to worship and service to the community. (1998)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Many of Kingsville's early Black residents came as railroad workers, and their first worship gatherings reportedly met under a mesquite tree where missionary William Green preached. In 1908 trustees of the Mount Zion Baptist Association bought land, and on Easter Sunday 1910 nine charter members formed King Star Missionary Baptist Church, the town's first African American congregation. Its building also housed Kingsville's first classes for Black children, and by the 1950s the church joined a program in which Black and white congregations exchanged members monthly to build understanding.
Why it matters
As church, schoolhouse, and later a bridge between segregated congregations, King Star shows how Black faith communities carried education and early civil-rights work in one institution.
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Related people
- · William Green
- · J. W. Brice
- · R. B. Shiner
Themes & tags
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