Second Baptist Church
Pleasanton, Atascosa County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1891, a small group of African American residents from the Pleasanton community met to organize a Baptist church. The meeting was attended by Reverend James Ellis, Mrs. Fannie Lamont, Mrs. Lucky Ross and others. The name Saint James Baptist Church was chosen for the new congregation and Reverend Ellis agreed to serve as the church's first pastor. Later that year, church trustees purchased from Elias Edmond one half acre on East Adams Street for the construction of a church building. In 1903, Reverend Hagood began his thirty-three year pastorate of the congregation, the longest since its inception. The church's first structure was demolished in 1950 in order to make room for a larger, more modern building, but construction was delayed, and many church members became discouraged and left the congregation to worship elsewhere. However, a core group of congregants worked hard to sustain the church. The congregation met for worship at a nearby mission church while funds were raised for the new building. In 1953 the congregation's name was changed to Second Baptist Church, and the new church facility was dedicated in May of that year. A former school building was moved to the property ca. 1957 to be used as a parsonage. Outreach to the community is an important part of church activities. Second Baptist offers several college scholarships each year, and members are active in Christian Assistance Ministry. Today, Second Baptist Church continues to stand as a symbol of faith and service within the Pleasanton community. (2010)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1891 a small group of African American residents of Pleasanton gathered to organize a Baptist congregation, first named Saint James under founding pastor Reverend James Ellis, and soon bought a half-acre on East Adams Street for a church. The congregation weathered a discouraging setback when its first building was demolished in 1950 and the new one delayed, but a determined core held on, worshiping at a mission church until the new facility was dedicated in 1953 under the name Second Baptist. Today it remains a center of faith, scholarship, and community service.
Why it matters
The church stands as testimony to the resilience of Black congregations in Texas, which built and rebuilt houses of worship as anchors of community life across more than a century.
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Related people
- · Reverend James Ellis
- · Fannie Lamont
- · Lucky Ross
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Pleasanton School Integration
Pleasanton, TX
Pleasanton had educated its African American children at the Abraham Lincoln School since 1913, and by the mid-1950s Black and white students were already practicing and playing sports together. When the Lincoln School proved inadequate and Texas's House Bill 65 required a community petition and vote before integration, Pleasanton's residents supplied both, approving the measure 343 to 88 on October 26, 1957. Days later nine Black students entered the new high school before assembled press, welcomed by their classmates in a transition that recorded no violence.
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