Mercy Seat Baptist Church
Washington, Washington County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Reverend J. L. Lawson and community members organized the Mercy Seat Baptist Church in 1894. Located in what was then called Graball, the original church building was built on property south of the current location. In 1953, the membership voted to build a new church, with each member paying one dollar per month for the building fund. In 1981, the rear addition of the existing church was built and the whole building was bricked the next year. The church has been active in the community with festivals, outreach programs, scholarships and mission trips. Mercy Seat Baptist Church thrived throughout the 20th century even after Graball declined and it continues to serve the Washington area today.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1894 the Reverend J. L. Lawson and his neighbors gathered to found a congregation in Graball, a small Black community in the Brazos-bottom country south of Washington, Texas. When members voted to build anew in 1953, they funded the work a dollar at a time, each person contributing monthly until the church rose. Long after Graball itself faded from the map, the congregation kept its doors open with festivals, scholarships, and mission work.
Why it matters
Black churches organized in the generation after emancipation became the enduring civic and social anchors of freedmen's communities, often outlasting the towns that grew up around them.
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Related people
- · Rev. J. L. Lawson
Themes & tags
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