Mineola in Wood County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church
Charter members were Mandy Hall, Mariah Lee, Mary Garrett, Ellis Lee, Willis Oliver and Bettie Brooks. In 1873, renamed Mineola, the town boasted two new rail lines. That same year, St. Paul church members built their first sanctuary at the corner of Harris and Stone streets. The church held early baptisms in a creek near present Wren Street, and the congregation grew over the next decades. In 1897, it purchased this site and constructed a new sanctuary. Later, under the leadership of the Rev. T.B. Johnson, who served the church from 1914 to 1941, the church remodeled its early sanctuary. In 1958, the congregation replaced it with a larger structure.
The Rev. Johnson served as moderator of the East Texas Baptist Association, as did the Rev. Lawrence W. Pryor, pastor from 1945 to 1949, who was also president of the Baptist Training Union Congress. These men and other pastors, including the Rev. Charles Colquitt, who served for more than 41 years, helped establish the congregation as a long-standing Mineola institution. Other church leaders included numerous deacons, deaconesses, junior deacons, and men and women who served as trustees and in other capacities.
St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church continues to grow and serve the Mineola community as a tie to area pioneers, and as a place for worship, education, service and fellowship.
Erected 2005 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 13750.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Churches & Religion • Railroads & Streetcars • Settlements & Settlers.
Location. 32° 39.746′ N, 95° 29.668′ W. Marker has been reported damaged. Marker is in Mineola, Texas, in Wood County. Marker is at the intersection of West Front Street and South Stone Street, on the left when traveling west on West Front Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 304 S Stone St, Mineola TX 75773, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location. Thomas Clinic Building (approx. 0.2 miles away); Mineola Ice, Light and Water Company (approx. 0.2 miles away); Gov. James Stephen Hogg and Wood County (approx. ¼ mile away); Mallory Bros. Grocery and Feed Stores (approx. ¼ mile away); Rufus Cornelius Hickman (approx. ¼ mile away); C. W. Raines (approx. ¼ mile away); Addie E. McFarland (approx. 0.3 miles away); Mineola's Jewish Community (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Mineola.
Regarding St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church. Credits - Rosalind Lee Walton-Russell, MSW, LCSW. Church Historian. St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church. Mineola, TX. Elected the church historian from 1982-2010. Church history's author and publisher, submitted to the Texas Historical Commission, Austin, and filed the Application for the State Marker under the Reverend Willie Lawson, Pastor. Reverend Lawson expired soon after the State of Texas approved the Marker. The newly elected Reverend Demetrius Boyd dedicated the Marker in the absence of Reverend Lawson.
Credits. This page was last revised on December 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on September 5, 2019, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 285 times since then and 31 times this year. Last updated on December 2, 2023, by Rosalind Lee Walton-Russell of Mineola, Texas, Wood County, Unites of America. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 5, 2019, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. 3. submitted on November 27, 2023, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.