Black Oak Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Black Oak Baptist Church, out in Hopkins County. Settle in, because this one goes back a good ways. Back to the 1850s, when folks came into that corner of Texas on government land grants and found themselves standing among black oak trees.

That's the community they named Black Oak, and that is where this story lives. By 1854, a post office had been established, and somebody had gone ahead and put up a log building meant to serve the whole community, a church on Sunday and a school the rest of the week. Those early settlers weren't wasting any space.

They also had a gin running, a hardwood sawmill, and a grocery store. A full little world taking shape under those oaks. Then 1856 rolls around, and two men, Elders John J.

D. Davis and Daniel Ramsey, help organize a proper Baptist congregation. Eight charter members put their names to it.

H. W. Townsend, Stephen Bullock, Canter Irby, Rebecka Jane Byrd, Amanda Ford, F.

M. Ford, Penelepe Floyd, and Malindy Bullock. Eight people standing at the beginning of something that would outlast all of them by a long stretch.

They elected Davis as their first pastor, and the church was off and running. A few years on, in 1859, early settlers David and Rebecca Attaway donated one acre of land for the church's use. More land came in 1885, and again in 1910.

The original log building finally gave way to a new sanctuary in 1909. Right next to that building sits the Black Oak Cemetery, long associated with this congregation. The oldest marked grave there belongs to Ava Oliver, dated 1857.

That grave was already there before some of that land was even donated. Before the new sanctuary. Before the extra purchases.

Ava Oliver was buried among those oaks while the community was still finding its feet. And here is the part that lands like a good story ought to land. Many descendants of the early day founders of Black Oak are still active in that congregation today.

The names may have changed, the building certainly has, but those black oak roots run deep.

What the marker says

Named for the black oak trees surrounding it, the Black Oak community was settled in the 1850s by recipients of government land grants. By 1854 a post office had been established, and a log building had been constructed for use as a community church and school. In its early years, Black Oak had a gin, hardwood sawmill, and grocery store. In 1856 Elders John J. D. Davis and Daniel Ramsey helped organize a Baptist congregation. The eight charter members-- H. W. Townsend, Stephen Bullock, Canter Irby, Rebecka Jane Byrd, Amanda Ford, F. M. Ford, Penelepe Floyd, and Malindy Bullock-- elected Davis as their first pastor. Throughout its history, Black Oak Baptist Church has been a focal point of the community. Early settlers David and Rebecca Attaway donated one acre of land for use of the church in 1859. Additional land was purchased in 1885 and in 1910. The current sanctuary replaced the original log building in 1909. The Black Oak Cemetery, located adjacent to the church building, long has been associated with this congregation. The oldest marked grave, that of Ava Oliver, is dated 1857. Many descendants of the early day founders of the Black Oak community are active in the Black Oak Baptist Church congregation today.