Old Palestine Baptist Church
Alto, Cherokee County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Organized 1844 by early preacher, Rev. Isaac Reed. First called Mount Olive, then Palestine. Worshipped in homes until 1854. Then small church (also used as school) was built on land donated by Capt. and Mrs. Henry Berryman. Third church now on site. (1966)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Organized in 1844 by the pioneer preacher Rev. Isaac Reed and first called Mount Olive, this Baptist congregation worshipped in members' homes until 1854, when a small building doubling as a school rose on land donated by Captain and Mrs. Henry Berryman. Founded in the final year of the Republic of Texas, it took root among the earliest Anglo settlers of Cherokee County. A third sanctuary now stands on the same long-used site.
Why it matters
The church marks how faith and schooling arrived together with the first settlers, planting the institutions that turned raw East Texas land into settled communities.
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Related people
- · Isaac Reed
- · Henry Berryman
Themes & tags
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