Eads in Arlington in Shelby County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
Gray's Creek Baptist Church
⎯⎯⎯
Gray's Creek Cemetery
Photographed by Don Morfe, April 21, 2014
1. Gray's Creek Baptist Church Marker side
Gray's Creek Baptist Church. This church is Shelby County's oldest African American congregation. It was founded by two free men of color, preachers Simon Price and Joseph "Free Joe" Harris, and numerous slaves, right after its former occupant, a white congregation, vacated the premises around 1840. Historical evidence indicates that the elder Price was the congregation's first pastor. The Baptists, in 1843, adopted the name Gray's Creek, after the then name of the road on which it is located. This church also served as a school for African Americans, beginning right after slavery ended in 1865, and continuing until the establishment of county schools in 1918.
Gray's Creek Cemetery. This cemetery, believed to have been established in the 1830's, is one of the earliest in Shelby County. Originally the Royster family burial ground, the land was acquired by African Americans around 1840. Buried here are many of northeast Shelby County's earliest citizens, including the founders of Gray's Creek Baptist Church, and many of their descendants. The remains of some Caucasians buried here, including members of the Royster family, were transferred to the nearby Morning Sun Presbyterian Cemetery. Others still rest here.
Erected 2011 by Descendants of the Founders, and the
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical year for this entry is 1840.
Location. 35° 12.702′ N, 89° 40.866′ W. Marker is in Arlington, Tennessee, in Shelby County. It is in Eads. It is on Inglewood Place just north of U.S. 64. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Arlington TN 38002, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in West Tennessee and in Greater Memphis. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, in the Upper South, in the Mississippi Delta, and in the Great River Road Region. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Old Stagecoach Inn (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Chambers Chapel United Methodist Church / Chambers Chapel Cemetery (approx. one mile away); Orion Hill (approx. 2.6 miles away); Memphis's Civil War Sites (approx. 3.7 miles away); a different marker also named Davies Manor (approx. 4 miles away); Ellen Davies-Rodgers (approx. 4 miles away); Dr. Greene Fort Pinkston (approx. 4½ miles away); Arlington, Tennessee (approx. 5.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Arlington.
Another marker is no longer nearby. Davies Manor (was approx. 4 miles away but has been confirmed missing).
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, August 7, 2021
2. Gray's Creek Cemetery Marker side
Photographed by Don Morfe, April 21, 2014
3. Gray's Creek Baptist Church Marker
Photographed by Don Morfe, April 21, 2014
4. Gray's Creek Baptist Church
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 26, 2014, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 2,324 times since then and 121 times this year. Last updated on April 15, 2020, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Photos: 1. submitted on June 26, 2014, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. 2. submitted on August 8, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 3, 4. submitted on June 26, 2014, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
