HistoricSiteMarkers
Reconstruction & Gilded Age

Saint Beulah Christian Methodist Episcopal Church

Pittsburg, Camp County, Texas

Marker Inscription

The C.M.E. Church in Pittsburg was organized by the Rev. Joseph Lloyd, who came here between 1870 and 1889. The name St. Beulah was adopted after this sanctuary was constructed in 1896. The wood frame Gothic revival building has an asymmetrical facade with two towers of differing sizes. The stained glass lancet windows were donated by various members of the congregation. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1985

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Organized by the Rev. Joseph Lloyd in the years after emancipation, this Colored Methodist Episcopal congregation took the name St. Beulah when its sanctuary rose in 1896. The wood-frame Gothic Revival building, with its two mismatched towers and member-donated stained-glass lancet windows, is a fine example of African American church-building in the post-Reconstruction South. Such churches were spiritual homes and community anchors for freedpeople and their descendants.

Why it matters

Independent Black churches like St. Beulah were among the most important institutions African Americans built for themselves after slavery, sustaining faith, leadership, and community.

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Related people

  • · Joseph Lloyd

Themes & tags

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