Saint Mark Baptist Church
McKinney, Collin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The congregation was organized in 1879 by two preachers, the Rev. Dick White and a Rev. Jones, who conducted prayer meetings in area homes. The first church services were held on the farm of Isaac Graves, northeast of McKinney. Originally known as the Free Missionary Baptist Church, the name became Saint Mark in 1886. That same year the church purchased this property and built a brush arbor. A one-room frame building served as the first sanctuary. The present brick edifice was constructed in 1960 during the 1942-1974 pastorate of the Rev. B.T. Jones. (1980) Incise on back: Church Families A. Beavers S. Bell Jr. R.GV. Cofield O.H. Ellis E. Jackson J. Jackson R. Jones E. Killion J. Mack B. Martin L. Newsome A.L. Pearson Geo. Pearson E.T. Robinson E. Smith L. Wattley W.J. Wattley Rev. Erie D. Fields, Pastor
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The congregation began in 1879 with prayer meetings in area homes led by two preachers, the Rev. Dick White and a Rev. Jones, with its first services held on Isaac Graves's farm outside McKinney. First known as the Free Missionary Baptist Church, it took the name Saint Mark in 1886, bought this property, and worshipped under a brush arbor before raising a one-room frame sanctuary. The present brick church went up in 1960 during a long pastorate, the culmination of eighty years of congregational life.
Why it matters
Saint Mark reflects the Missionary Baptist church-building that flourished in Texas after emancipation, when congregations founded in the Reconstruction era became durable pillars of community life.
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Related people
- · Rev. Dick White
- · Isaac Graves
- · Rev. B. T. Jones
- · Rev. Erie D. Fields
Themes & tags
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