New Hope Missionary Baptist Church
Wheelock, Robertson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Originally located in the woods west of the Spring Creek Settlement, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church was established in the 1800s. In the 1890s, church member Lucy Bell Stubbs Mitchell donated land on her property for a permanent church home and a building was erected. In 1911, the church moved to this site and rebuilt the sanctuary from the old church materials. More than a religious home, the church also served as the social, political and educational center of the African American community, hosting fraternal organizations, events and celebrations. Despite hardships, the church has provided a place of hope, faith and strength for the community of Wheelock for generations. (2016)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Founded in the 1800s in the woods west of the Spring Creek Settlement, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church found a permanent home when member Lucy Bell Stubbs Mitchell donated land in the 1890s. In 1911 it moved to this site, rebuilt from the old church's materials. Beyond worship, it served as the social, political, and educational heart of Wheelock's African American community.
Why it matters
Black churches like New Hope were the organizing centers of African American life in the post-emancipation rural South, holding communities together through generations of hardship.
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Related people
- · Lucy Bell Stubbs Mitchell
Themes & tags
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