St. Stephen's Missionary Baptist Church
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Organized in 1887, this congregation first met in a small wooden building near this site. The Rev. Stephens Smith served as first pastor of the church, which served residents of the Waters Park, Round Rock, and Pflugerville communities. Land for a church and school was given by Mr. and Mrs. Anderson Peoples in 1887. St. Stephen's School, also known as Waters Park Colored School, provided education for black children in the area. A new sanctuary was built in 1978. This church continues to serve a large community with outreach programs.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Organized in 1887, St. Stephen's Missionary Baptist Church first gathered in a small wooden building serving the Black residents of the Waters Park, Round Rock, and Pflugerville communities. The congregation's founding pastor was the Rev. Stephens Smith, and land given by Mr. and Mrs. Anderson Peoples supported both a church and a school—St. Stephen's, also known as the Waters Park Colored School, which educated Black children of the area. A new sanctuary rose in 1978 as the church carried its ministry into a new century.
Why it matters
St. Stephen's shows how post-emancipation Black churches doubled as schools, providing the education denied elsewhere and building enduring community institutions.
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Related people
- · Stephens Smith
- · Anderson Peoples
Themes & tags
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