New Hope Baptist Church
Mineola, Wood County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This fellowship was started as a Baptist Church of Christ in 1864. Members reorganized at Greer's Neighborhood, now Golden Rule community (2 mi. NW), in 1890 as Stephen's Chapel Missionary Baptist Church. The new name honored Stephen Kelley, a church elder who had died the previous year. A sanctuary was built in 1902 on the banks of Black Branch, a stream near New Hope Cemetery (3/4 mi. S) used for baptismal services. The church was renamed New Hope Baptist in 1916 and the congregation moved to the present location the following year. (1980)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This fellowship began in 1864 as a Baptist Church of Christ and reorganized in 1890 as Stephen's Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, honoring an elder who had died the year before. A sanctuary rose in 1902 on Black Branch, a stream used for baptisms near New Hope Cemetery, and the congregation took the New Hope Baptist name in 1916 before moving to its present home the next year. Its shifting names and locations trace the movement of a Wood County farm community over half a century.
Why it matters
The church's long, migrating history shows how rural Texas congregations preserved community identity through decades of change, carrying names and members from one crossroads settlement to the next.
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Related people
- · Stephen Kelley
Themes & tags
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