Mount Calvary Baptist Church
Lufkin, Angelina County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Mount Calvary Baptist Church was founded in 1892 when Ellen Grimes asked her employer for the use of a house as a church for African Americans in Keltys. The church's first pastor was the Rev. J. James. The congregation has occupied four different buildings. In 1948 the Angelina County Lumber Company deeded land for the church site. The congregation supports many community outreach programs and mission work in Africa. The Mount Calvary Baptist Church continues to serve the Lufkin area as it has for more than 100 years. (1996)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Mount Calvary Baptist Church began in 1892 when Ellen Grimes asked her employer for the use of a house so that African Americans in the Keltys community could have a church of their own. Under its first pastor, the Rev. J. James, the young congregation grew and moved through four different buildings over the decades. In 1948 the Angelina County Lumber Company deeded land for a permanent site, and the church has served the Lufkin area for well over a century.
Why it matters
Founded by a working Black woman for her community, Mount Calvary embodies how faith and self-determination sustained African American life in the segregated South.
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Related people
- · Ellen Grimes
- · Rev. J. James
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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