New Hope Missionary Baptist Church
Port Arthur, Jefferson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This congregation was first organized in early 1906 by the Rev. Mr. Stevenson, Nancy Copeland (Coplan), Laura Herbert and Sharlit Bill (Beal). As the local African American population grew, eleven more people joined the group. They called the Rev. A. D. Hendon as pastor and officially established the first Baptist church for African Americans in Port Arthur. They named the church New Hope Baptist Church. Church officers were Professor A. J. Criner, head of the Young People's Union and chairman of the deacon board, and W. M. Richardson, Sunday School superintendent. Early services were held in a horse stable which members cleared out on the weekends for church use. Other church programs included a woman's home mission society. The congregation erected its first building in 1909 during the pastorate of the Rev. J. E. Nelson, but it was destroyed by storms and flooding. The second building met the same fate, and many early church records were destroyed. This pattern continued for many years and was a common problem before the seawall was built in Port Arthur. The congregation cultivated a strong relationship with nearby Israel Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church and the two groups occasionally shared facilities. Another close bond was forged with West Tabernacle Baptist Church of Beaumont between 1910 and 1920 when the Rev J. W. Williams served both churches simultaneously. The church thrived throughout the 20th century, calling pastors and repairing worship structures as needed. The congregation sponsored many community service efforts and was host to several community organizations. In 1982 a new sanctuary ws dedicated. New Hope Baptist Church members continue to worship in the traditions of their founders. (2000) Incise on base: Officially Organized August 12,1906
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Organized in early 1906 by the Rev. Mr. Stevenson and a small group of founders, this congregation became the first Baptist church for African Americans in Port Arthur, first worshiping in a horse stable cleared out each weekend. Storms and floods repeatedly destroyed its buildings—a common hardship before the city's seawall was built—yet the congregation rebuilt again and again, forging bonds with neighboring Black churches and dedicating a new sanctuary in 1982.
Why it matters
New Hope's endurance through flood and loss embodies the founding role Black churches played as spiritual and community anchors in the rapidly growing, oil-boom Gulf Coast city.
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Related people
- · Rev. A. D. Hendon
- · Nancy Copeland
- · Laura Herbert
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Rock Island Baptist Church
Port Arthur, TX
Rock Island Baptist Church grew out of a small band of worshippers who broke away in 1911 to form their own congregation in Port Arthur, meeting first in a rented house before building on this site. Beyond Sunday services, the church opened the first kindergarten for African American children in Port Arthur and later hosted a WPA program during the Depression. Through radio, bus, and prison ministries it became a lasting spiritual anchor for the Black community.
Israel Chapel A. M. E. Church
Port Arthur, TX
In 1903 Frederick Shepherd founded this African Methodist Episcopal congregation in his Port Arthur home, with the Rev. Napoleon Harris—whom he had helped establish a nearby A.M.E. mission the year before—as its first pastor. The sanctuary built in 1904 also housed the area's first public school for African Americans. As the congregation grew it built ever-larger sanctuaries, taking the name Israel Chapel A.M.E. Church in 1959.
St. Paul United Methodist Church
Port Arthur, TX
In 1915 the Rev. S.D. Hackett brought Methodism to the historically Black westside of Port Arthur, gathering seventeen faithful members as Hackett Chapel. Recorded in 1920 as St. Paul Methodist Episcopal Church, the congregation built its first church on Lincoln Avenue and, through the 1968 merger that created the United Methodist Church, became St. Paul United Methodist Church. For over a century it has anchored the Westside through missions, food and clothing drives, and youth programs.
Fort Sabine
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