Berea Community

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Berea Community in Marion County. Now settle in, because this one starts with a conversation and ends with something that's still standing today. In 1913, the citizens of Jefferson, Texas, got to talkin'.

Through the secretary of their Progressive Club, they began to discuss something ambitious: the establishment of a Seventh-Day Adventist colony and school out in this part of Marion County. Now, a good idea needs the right people behind it, and that's where Elder E.B. Hopkins came in.

Born in 1854, Hopkins was the minister of the Seventh-Day Adventist church, and he had a friend. That friend was W.A. McCutchen, who at the time happened to be president of the north Texas conference of Seventh-Day Adventists.

Hopkins persuaded McCutchen to help, and McCutchen did not come in halfway. He reached into his own pocket, his personal funds, and purchased 1,770 acres near the Black Cypress Bayou. Seventeen hundred and seventy acres.

That is not a man dabbling. That is a man committed. On June 21, 1915, that property was conveyed to the Texas Conference Association of Seventh-Day Adventists, and McCutchen turned his attention to the next task: attracting settlers.

He offered land. He offered educational opportunities for their children. And they came.

The community that took shape was given the name Berea, alluding to the city mentioned in the book of Acts in the Bible. A name with weight. A name with purpose.

Work started immediately on a school and a church. The original Berea Seventh-Day Adventist School opened in 1914, three rooms, which tells you something about the faith involved, because three rooms meant they were already expecting children to show up. And show up they did.

By 1916, enrollment had grown enough that the school building had to be expanded. Over the years, the school kept growing, kept changing, operating under various names along the way, including Berea Junior Academy and Jefferson Junior Academy. The church congregation met in that same building for a time, sharing the space, until a sanctuary of their own was finally built between 1954 and 1956.

After serving many years, the original school was dismantled, and new buildings were erected in 1985. Elder Hopkins, who had started all this with a conversation and a persuasive word to a friend, lived until 1941. The community he helped bring into being never was recorded as an official town site.

No town, no city limits, no dot on the map in the formal sense. But here is the thing worth sittin' with: the elementary school across the street from those newer buildings has been in continuous operation since 1914. That is the measure of a community.

Not whether somebody drew a line around it on a map, but whether it kept going. Berea kept going.

What the marker says

In 1913, citizens of Jefferson, through the secretary of their Progressive Club, began to discuss the establishment of a Seventh - Day Adventist colony and school in this part of Marion County. Elder E.B. Hopkins (1854-1941), the minister of the Seventh-Day Adventist church, persuaded his friend, W.A. McCutchen, to help. McCutchen was, at the time, president of the north Texas conference of Seventh-Day Adventists and used his personal funds to purchase 1770 acres near the Black Cypress Bayou. The property was conveyed to the Texas Conference Association of Seventh-Day Adventists on June 21, 1915. McCutchen then attracted settlers with land and educational opportunities for their children. The community was named "Berea" alluding to the city mentioned in the book of Acts in the Bible. Work started immediately on a school and church. The original Berea Seventh-Day Adventist School opened in 1914 and consisted of three rooms. In 1916, due to increased enrollment, the school building was expanded. Over the years, the school underwent numerous periods of growth and operated under various names, including Berea Junior Academy and Jefferson Junior Academy. The church also met in this building for a time until a sanctuary was built in 1954-56. After serving many years, the school was dismantled and new buildings were erected in 1985. The elementary school across the street has also been in continuous operation since 1914. Although the community was never recorded as a town site, the Berea community has continued to maintain a viable presence in Marion county.