Wichita Falls in Wichita County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Saint John Baptist Church

Photographed by James Hulse, October 26, 2025

1. Saint John Baptist Church Marker

Inscription. In June 1884, the Grainger & Ballow Addition was platted in an area later called the Eastside, which became the center of the African American community of Wichita Falls. In this neighborhood in November 1905, Rev. W.M. Massey, Charles and Susan Frizzell Craft, Andrew Byrd, William Johnson and Lizzie Scott Richardson organized Saint John Baptist Church, the third congregation of the black community. Mrs. Richardson is credited for naming the church. The first service was held at Titus Chapel C.M.E. Church. The church soon moved to the Odd Fellows Hall and a building fund campaign was initiated. A small wood frame building was erected on Park Street in 1906, but unfortunately burned in June 1913 while pastor William Washington served. A brush arbor, used for worship, was erected on the same lot. Under Rev. M.K. Curry, a basement was built and by 1917 a two-story brick sanctuary was completed with the first baptistery of the Eastside area churches. A four-room house behind the church was bought as the first parsonage.

Saint John became a spiritual and social center for the community. During the devastating Great Depression of the 1930s, Rev. Moses P. Timms and six other ministers of the Eastside Ministerial Alliance sponsored the feeding of approximately two hundred people per day with meals served in the basement of Saint John. Rev. Theodore Smith was influential in building the first black church-owned recreational community park with a concession stand in 1947. Property was purchased at 1009 Flood Street to erect a new church, dedicated in August 1958. Rev. L.D. Bell's son was the architect. In 1967, the church mortgage was paid off and a new three thousand-square-foot parsonage was built. Saint John Baptist Church, more than a century old, still remains a vital part of the Eastside community of Wichita

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Falls.

Erected 2019 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 22513.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical month for this entry is June 1884.

Location. 33° 54.906′ N, 98° 28.384′ W. Marker is in Wichita Falls, Texas, in Wichita County. It is at the intersection of Flood Street and Holland Avenue, on the left when traveling west on Flood Street. The marker is located at the front of the church. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1009 Flood Street, Wichita Falls TX 76301, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Big Country.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the Comanchería,

the Republic of Texas,

and one of the Confederate States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church (approx. 0.2 miles away); Site of Booker T. Washington High School

Saint John Baptist Church and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, October 26, 2025

2. Saint John Baptist Church and Marker

(approx. ¼ mile away); Booker T. Washington High School (approx. ¼ mile away); Dr. Colonel Bertram (C.B.) Fuller (approx. 0.4 miles away); Dr. Anne Elizabeth Davis Roark (approx. 0.4 miles away); J. A. Kemp Wholesale Grocery Building (approx. 0.9 miles away); The Zale Legacy (approx. one mile away); Site of St. James Hotel (approx. one mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Wichita Falls.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 26, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 26, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 73 times since then and 42 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 26, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.