Pine Bluff in Jefferson County, Arkansas — The American South (West South Central)
Saint Andrew's A Black Episcopal Mission
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 16, 2024
1. Saint Andrew's A Black Episcopal Mission Marker
St. Andrew's was founded in 1906 on this site donated by founding member Wiley Jones. In 1922, an impressive brick church with beautiful stained glass windows was consecrated with the first Black Episcopal bishop serving in the nation, Edward Demby. He considered it his best mission, and the first Colored Convocation met here. Notable members included The Rev. D.E. Johnson family; Joseph and Jane Ramos, Tuskegee Airman and local civil-rights activist; Prof. George Loder; and The Rev. Dr. Emery Washington. Disbanded, and demolished in 1966 along with other prominent African American buildings for US Hwy 65 (Martha Mitchell Expressway).
Erected 2021 by Jefferson County Historical Society.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Charity & Public Work • Religion & Religious Structures • Roads & Vehicles. A significant historical year for this entry is 1906.
Location. 34° 13.841′ N, 92° 0.56′ W. Marker is in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, in Jefferson County. It is at the intersection of West Pullen Avenue
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in the Arkansas Delta and in the Quapaw Homeland. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. 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, the Louisiana Purchase, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Joseph Bonne Cabin (approx. Ό mile away); Barraque Street (approx. 0.3 miles away); Boone-Murphy House / Union Strategy and Pine Bluff (approx. 0.3 miles away); Auguste La noir de Serville (approx. 0.3 miles away); Saenger Theatre (approx. 0.3 miles away); Battle of Pine Bluff (approx. 0.3 miles away); A Memorial to the War that United the North and South (approx. 0.4 miles away);
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 16, 2024
2. Saint Andrew's A Black Episcopal Mission Marker
Looking west along West Pullen Avenue. Martha Mitchell Expressway (US Business Highway 65) is just beyond the fence in the left background, parallel to West Pullen Avenue.
Other markers no longer nearby. Dedicated to Miss Willie K. Hocker (was approx. 0.3 miles away but has been confirmed missing); a different marker also named Dedicated to Miss Willie K. Hocker (was approx. 0.3 miles away but has been confirmed missing).
Also see . . . Memorial marks all-Black Church (Arkansasonline.com).
(By Deborah Horn, 10/19/2021) Excerpt: St. Andrew's Episcopal Church was built at a time when Jim Crow laws forced race separation, enforced through cruelty, lynching and terror. More than 60 years later, the church was demolished in an attempt to destroy a prosperous Black neighborhood by running a highway through it. That's how one Episcopal Church bishop and a retired professor described the events that shaped the former Black mission church, once standing at the corner of Pullen Avenue and Oak Street, at a Sunday afternoon dedication service of a historical marker.(Submitted on December 15, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)The church was built in 1906 and remained standing until 1968 on property donated by Wiley Jones, a highly successful Pine Bluff businessman and a founding member of St. Andrew's. It served as one of seven a Black mission churches in Arkansas and was born out of the ministry of Rev. Robert Trimble, Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church of Pine Bluff, in 1866.
There was an original marker, but it was damaged beyond repair by an automobile years ago, and later, mysteriously disappeared. Until Sunday, there was nothing to denote the spot where the church once stood except city park public restrooms and the Saracen Splash Park.
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 16, 2024
3. Saint Andrew's A Black Episcopal Mission Marker
Looking east along West Pullen Avenue.
Credits. This page was last revised on December 15, 2024. It was originally submitted on December 12, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 231 times since then and 27 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 15, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
