Vine Grove Christian Church
Bay City, Matagorda County, Texas
Marker Inscription
After the 1865 Emancipation Proclamation, many of the more than 100 slave who once farmed cotton and sugar cane for John L. Thorpe remain on former plantation land, forming the Live Oak community. In 1867 Joseph Yeaman, a white schoolteacher helped organize the Grapevine church, serving as its first pastor. The first church building was a log cabin with a dirt floor. By 1895 the church was known as the Mission Home School, later becoming the Vine Grove Christian Church. The congregation continues to uphold the values and traditions of its founders. (1998)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
After emancipation, many of the more than one hundred people once enslaved on John L. Thorpe's cotton and sugar plantation stayed on the land and formed the Live Oak community. In 1867 a white schoolteacher, Joseph Yeaman, helped them organize the Grapevine church—first a dirt-floored log cabin—and served as its first pastor. By 1895 it had grown into the Mission Home School, later renamed the Vine Grove Christian Church.
Why it matters
It documents how freedpeople in Reconstruction-era Texas built enduring churches and schools that anchored their new lives in freedom.
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Related people
- · Joseph Yeaman
- · John L. Thorpe
Related events
- · Emancipation
Themes & tags
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