Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church

Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church. . , Following emancipation in 1865, freedmen and women established the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church near Caney Creek in 1866. Instrumental in the church formation were the Reverend Dennis Gray (1814-1879), Secretary John Alexander Sidney (1842-1928) and many charter members., The first church building was erected on land from the A. C. Buckner league purchased by the Reverend Mr. Gray and donated to the church. The building also served as a community school with an enrollment of about 100 pupils. A cemetery was established in the 1870s near the church and contains the graves of church and community members., A storm in 1909 destroyed the original church building, and a second church was constructed. A bell dating from 1856 given to the church by the community was hung in the belfry of the new church. In 1970 a new sanctuary was constructed on land donated by the Van Vleck school district. Auxiliary facilities were added as the congregation grew., Continuing a long history of service and community outreach, the church was a site of refuge during hurricane Carla in 1961. The church remains an integral part of the area as it has for more than 130 years.