Pilgrim Hill Baptist Church
Palestine, Anderson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1880, Reverend Richard Henry Boyd helped organize the Pilgrim Hill Baptist Church. Two years later, the church joined Zion Hill District Baptist Association, an organization also established by Reverend Boyd and others. When the church joined the organization, the congregation grew in membership. Rev. Boyd went on to found the National Baptist Publishing Board which, for more than 110 years, has been a major publisher of Christian educational material. In the early years, Reverend Jesse Davis led the congregation, many of whom were former slaves. The first location of the church was on a plot of land loaned to the congregation by Henry Butler, a former slave. A small, wood-frame church was built in the mid-1880s. The church shared the building with another church until the visiting church needed a larger space. The Pilgrim Hill Baptist Church congregation remained on the Butler land for twenty years until 1901 when Henry Butler died. The church moved to Cartmell family land outside of the city limits. A small box church was built where the congregation worshipped for almost sixty years. In 1958, the church moved to its present location. On March 6, 1960, the first worship service was held in the new building. The building has been remodeled and updated over the years with a baptismal pool and fellowship hall. Prayer visits to the local hospitals have been a primary focus of the congregation for more than a hundred years. From humble beginnings, the Pilgrim Hill Baptist Church has been a source of hope and fellowship for the community for over 130 years. (2013)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Organized in 1880 with help from the Reverend Richard Henry Boyd, Pilgrim Hill Baptist gathered a congregation of former slaves on land loaned by Henry Butler, himself formerly enslaved. Boyd went on to found the National Baptist Publishing Board, for over a century a major publisher of Christian educational material. The church moved several times — from Butler's land to Cartmell family land and finally, in 1958, to its present home — sustaining more than 130 years of worship and community service.
Why it matters
The congregation's tie to Richard Henry Boyd links a small East Texas church to one of the most influential Black-owned publishing enterprises in American religious history.
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Related people
- · Richard Henry Boyd
- · Jesse Davis
- · Henry Butler
Related events
- · Founding of Pilgrim Hill Baptist Church, 1880
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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