Broyles Chapel Missionary Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Broyles Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Walker County. Now settle in, because this one goes back further than most people think to look. Following the Civil War, a great many African Americans across the South were searching.

Searching for refuge. Searching for identity. And searching, maybe most of all, for a place to gather in the spirit.

That search had a way of building things, and what it built in Riverside, Texas, still stands today. According to oral tradition, a man named James Broyles, a businessman and contractor at the local mine, donated the land for a church site to serve the African American community. Now that kind of generosity, the kind that gives ground for others to stand on, is worth pausing over.

A church building was erected, and it was named after the man who made it possible. That name was Broyles Chapel Missionary Baptist Church. The doors of that church opened in 1895, under the leadership of Reverend Nemon.

Think about what that moment meant. The first African American church in Riverside. The first.

A congregation finding its footing, claiming its place, holding onto something that no one could take back. The marker calls this church a reminder of the struggle and determination of our ancestors, and those words are not decoration. They are the whole point.

What makes this story land, what gives it its real weight, is that final note the marker leaves you with. The congregation remains active in the community. All that struggle, all that determination, and it didn't end.

It kept walking right into the present.

What the marker says

Following the Civil War, many African Americans sought refuge, identity and spirituality through the organization of churches. According to oral tradition, a church site for the African American community was donated by James Broyles, a businessman and contractor at the local mine. A church building was erected and named after its benefactor. The doors of the church opened in 1895 under the leadership of Reverend Nemon. Broyles Chapel Missionary Baptist Church was the first African American church in Riverside and is a reminder of the struggle and determination of our ancestors. The church congregation remains active in the community.