Preachers Hill
Longview, Gregg County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Known to its residents as Preachers Hill and named when Bethel Temple Church was founded in 1920, this African American neighborhood was established near Longview's original townsite in the 1880s. Ella Jacob Cotton Loyd (1870-1957) came to Texas with planters William Cunyus and the Prothro family and settled in Longview. Family legend states that Ella built the home at 219 Clark Street in 1889 and became the matriarch of the neighborhood of around thirty families. Open fields were used for farming and a nearby creek provided fresh water. A commercial and social center emerged along with strong religious associations. Many local pastors, male and female, lived in the area. (2015)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Established near Longview's original townsite in the 1880s, this African American neighborhood took the name Preachers Hill when Bethel Temple Church was founded in 1920, reflecting the many pastors — women as well as men — who lived there. Family tradition holds that Ella Jacob Cotton Loyd built her home on Clark Street in 1889 and became matriarch of a community of about thirty families. Open fields, a nearby creek, and a cluster of churches and businesses made the hill a self-sustaining center of Black life in East Texas.
Why it matters
Preachers Hill preserves the story of the self-reliant Black communities that took root across the post-Reconstruction South, anchored by faith and family.
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Related people
- · Ella Jacob Cotton Loyd
Themes & tags
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