[Bethesda Missionary Baptist Church]

Description

Photograph of the southeast corner of the Bethesda Missionary Baptist Church. There are two people in a field, and a person standing on the stoops.

Physical Description

1 photograph : col.

Creation Information

Creator: Unknown. Creation Date: Unknown.

Context

This photograph is part of the collection entitled: Texas History Collection and was provided by the Marshall Public Library to The Portal to Texas History, a digital repository hosted by the UNT Libraries. It has been viewed 557 times, with 5 in the last month. More information about this photograph can be viewed below.

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Marshall Public Library

The Library was organized in 1902 and continues to serve the area. The Marshall Public Library provides access to local history photographs documenting their Library and notable African-American citizens instrumental in the East Texas city's development.

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Description

Photograph of the southeast corner of the Bethesda Missionary Baptist Church. There are two people in a field, and a person standing on the stoops.

Physical Description

1 photograph : col.

Notes

Bethesda Missionary Baptist Church is located at 801 W. Grand Ave. (Hwy 80) in Marshall. Bethesda is a traditionally African-American congregation with roots to 1867, that period after Emancipation when African-Americans were establishing their own churches. A pastor of the white First Baptist Church, Rev. A. E. Clemmons, and a black preacher, Rev. William Massey, worked together to found the original congregation of 450 persons that met in Massey's home. Originally the congregation was known simply as "Colored Baptist Church," the name on the deed. When the members elected to change the name, they identified with the pool of Bethesda in Biblical Jerusalem. It means "a source of healing and comfort, a pool or spring of healing water." The word "Missionary" was added to the name in the mid-1980's to reflect denominational affiliation. Throughout its history, Bethesda has included notable citizens who made contributions both locally and far beyond Marshall. One of the founders was David Abner, who was Harrison County treasurer, a member of the state legislature, and a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1875. Abner and the Bethesda congregation helped to found Bishop College, the black Baptist institution which was located in Marshall 1881-1961. Bethesda's first dedicated church building was a one-story wooden structure raised on the current site. A picture of it may be seen in the Texas History Portal. During 1897-1901, that structure was razed; and then an enlarged Gothic-style brick edifice was constructed on the same site. This one burned in 1953 and was replaced by the nearly identical building shown. Views in the picture are the south and east facades on a late fall afternoon. Three youths are on the lawn and the front steps. In 2008 this historic church was listed on the "Buard History Trail" which recognizes local sites significant to the city's African-American heritage.

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Texas History Collection

Drawn from collections at the UNT Libraries and various partners, these materials about Texas history include artifacts, books, documents, manuscripts, photographs, maps, letters, and more.

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Creation Date

  • Unknown

Covered Time Period

Added to The Portal to Texas History

  • Sept. 14, 2006, 10:09 p.m.

Description Last Updated

  • July 10, 2017, 11:13 a.m.

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Yesterday: 1
Past 30 days: 5
Total Uses: 557
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  • 32.548574, -94.375406

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[Bethesda Missionary Baptist Church], photograph, Date Unknown; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth17977/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Marshall Public Library.

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