Oak Grove Baptist Church
Grapeland, Houston County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Organized in 1848 as Friendship Baptist Church, this congregation was housed in a small wooden structure on this site. The people called the Rev. S. F. Wall in 1868. Minutes from the 1875 meeting of the Neches River Baptist Association reveal that a Sunday School program was in operation here by that time. Renamed Grapevine Baptist Church in 1881, and Oak Grove Baptist Church in 1888, the congregation included 89 members in 1902. Known as Oak Grove Missionary Baptist Church of Christ in 1919, the church prospered in the early 20th century with more than 50 people attending Sunday School each week. By the 1960s times were more difficult, but the congregation persevered and in 1977 erected a new house of worship. Oak Grove Baptist Church continues to serve the community and uphold the traditions of its founders. (1999)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Founded in 1848 as Friendship Baptist Church in a small wooden building, this East Texas congregation changed its name twice—to Grapevine and finally Oak Grove—as it grew through the second half of the 19th century. Association minutes show a Sunday School running by 1875, and the church counted nearly ninety members by 1902. Through leaner years in the 1960s the congregation held on, raising a new house of worship in 1977.
Why it matters
More than a century and a half of continuous worship on one site makes the church a living thread of community memory in rural Houston County.
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Related people
- · S. F. Wall
Themes & tags
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