Oak Hill Missionary Baptist Church
Gilmer, Upshur County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Oak Hill Baptist Church, the first Baptist congregation in this area, was organized about 1870. Early services were held in a one-room log school house near this site. On Nov. 12, 1884, Mrs. Carrie V. Johnson donated two and one-third acres to the church, and soon thereafter, a frame structure was built by a carpenter named Hardin. The name was changed to Oak Hill Missionary Baptist Church about 1900 to reflect the evangelical persuasion of the congregation. The present church sanctuary was erected in 1948.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Organized around 1870, this was the first Baptist congregation in its corner of Upshur County, first gathering in a one-room log schoolhouse. In 1884 Mrs. Carrie V. Johnson donated more than two acres, and a carpenter named Hardin soon raised a frame church. Renamed Oak Hill Missionary Baptist around 1900 to reflect the congregation's evangelical spirit, the church built its present sanctuary in 1948.
Why it matters
Small rural churches like this were the social and spiritual centers of frontier settlement, doubling as schoolhouses and community gathering places.
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Related people
- · Carrie V. Johnson
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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