St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church
Brazoria, Brazoria County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1867, African Americans in the Cedar Lake Community organized St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church with help from Rev. Israel Campbell. Rev. Dennis Gray was appointed the first pastor. The church met in log cabins and sometimes under a tent until 1873, when Christopher Higgins donated two acres to the church. The Freedmen’s Bureau supplied some building materials, allowing the community to build a permanent structure for worship which also served as the first school for blacks within the community. A portion of that land serves as a cemetery for church and community members. For more than 150 years, St. Paul has persevered, continuing today to provide a strong presence working to improve prospects for present and future generations. (2019)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Freedpeople in the Cedar Lake community organized St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in 1867, in the first uncertain years after emancipation, meeting in log cabins and under a tent until land was donated in 1873. With building materials supplied by the Freedmen's Bureau, the congregation raised a permanent structure that doubled as the community's first school for Black children, and a portion of the land became a cemetery. More than a century and a half later the church still stands as a pillar of the community.
Why it matters
Churches like St. Paul were the first institutions freedpeople built for themselves after slavery—serving at once as sanctuary, schoolhouse, and civic center—and anchor African American community life to this day.
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Related people
- · Rev. Israel Campbell
- · Rev. Dennis Gray
- · Christopher Higgins
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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